FIFA has adopted the official list of referees for the 2026 World Cup, which includes 170 referees, distributed among 52 field referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 video assistant referee (VAR) referees, representing the six continental federations that are part of FIFA.
The FIFA's decision to appoint referees was based on the principle of "quality first" adopted for years, taking into account the continuity of performance and the level of refereeing provided by the referees during recent seasons, whether in FIFA tournaments or in various continental and local competitions.
The following are the most prominent referees approved by the continental federations:
Asian Football Confederation (AFC):
Omar Al-Ali (UAE), Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar), Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan), Khalid Al-Taris (Saudi Arabia), Alireza Faghani (Australia), Ma Ning (China), Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan), Yusuke Araki (Japan).
Confederation of African Football (CAF):
Jalal Jaid (Morocco), Dahane Beida (Mauritania), Omar Abdelkader Artan (Somalia), Mustapha Gharbal (Algeria), Amine Omar (Egypt), Pierre Acho (Gabon), Tom Abungil (South Africa).
European Football Association (UEFA):
Alejandro Hernandez (Spain), Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor (England), Jerome Brissard and Clément Turban (France), Espin Eskas (Norway), Szymon Marchenjak (Poland), Danny McKelly (Netherlands).
Confederation of North, Central America, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF):
Ismail Al-Fath and Torre Banso (United States), Cesar Ramos (Mexico), Iván Barton (El Salvador), Said Martinez (Honduras).
South American Consortium (CONMEBOL):
Rafael Klaus, Wilton Sampaio, Ramón Abate (Brazil), Juan Gabriel Benitez (Paraguay), Juan Lara (Chile).
Oceania Consortium (OFC):
Campbell-Kirk and Kawana-Wau (New Zealand).