The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to begin, with 52 referees selected for the tournament. The majority of these referees, 15 in total, are from UEFA countries, including Szymon Marciniak from Poland, who refereed the 2022 World Cup Final.

Referee Selection

In addition to the UEFA referees, 12 referees were selected from CONMEBOL and nine from CONCACAF. New Zealand’s Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh is the lone Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) referee. Omar Abdulkadir Artan from Somalia was also selected, although his participation is uncertain due to visa issues.

A total of 88 assistant referees were chosen, representing all six confederations. The UEFA confederation has the most assistant referees, with 29, while the AFC has 12 and the CAF has 11. CONCACAF has 15 assistant referees, including four from the United States.

FIFA has also assigned 30 video match officials for the 2026 World Cup, with five confederations represented.

Original reporting: All Sports Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.