World Cup 2026: Arab Referees and African Football Updates

FIFA has officially announced the list of match officials selected for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The selection follows a comprehensive process spanning more than three years, aimed at identifying the highest quality and most consistent performers in international and domestic competitions.

The appointed cohort, referred to as FIFA Team One, consists of 170 officials in total. This group includes 52 field referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 Video Assistant Referee (VAR) officials. These officials represent 50 football associations across all six continental football federations.

The European Football Association (UEFA) secured the highest percentage of appointments for the tournament. This edition of the World Cup marks a significant expansion in scale, featuring 48 teams and a total of 104 matches.

Arab Representation in Match Officials

A significant number of officials from Arab countries have been selected to oversee matches during the tournament. We find nine field referees from nine different Arab nations:

• Amin Omar (Egypt)
• Mustafa Gharbal (Algeria)
• Jalal Jeed (Morocco)
• Khaled Al-Trees (Saudi Arabia)
• Omar Al-Ali (UAE)
• Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
• Dahan Baida (Mauritania)
• Omar Artan (Somalia)
• Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

In addition to the field referees, eight assistant referees from Arab countries have been appointed. These include Mahmoud Abu Al-Regal from Egypt; Zakaria Brinsi and Mustafa Akarkaz from Morocco; Meqrane Gourari and Akram Abbas Zerhouni from Algeria; Mohammed Al-Abkari from Saudi Arabia; Mohammed Al-Hammadi from the UAE; and Saud Ahmed Al-Maqaleh from Qatar.

The VAR official list also includes five representatives from Arab countries: Lahlu Benbrahim (Algeria), Mahmoud Ashour (Egypt), Abdullah Jamal (Kuwait), Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar), and Abdullah Al-Shahri (Saudi Arabia).

Selection Criteria and Support

The selection process was governed by FIFA’s quality first principle. Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee and FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer, stated that the selected officials are the best in the world and were monitored over a three-year period.

Candidates were assessed based on their performances in FIFA tournaments, as well as their domestic and international match records. To maintain peak performance, the selected officials have received and will continue to receive support from medical staff, physiotherapists, mental specialists, and fitness coaches.

Tournament Context and National Team Participation

The 2026 World Cup will see a record number of Arab national teams participating, with eight teams qualifying. Four of these teams hail from the African continent—Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria—while the remaining four are from Asia: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia’s qualification marks a return to the tournament after a 16-year absence, while Egypt is making a historic appearance in this expanded format.