Khaberni - The International Football Association (FIFA) announced on Thursday the list of referees who will manage the matches of the World Cup finals in 2026, which is set to be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The list includes 170 referees, among them 52 field referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 Video Assistant Referee (VAR) officials from 6 continental football federations and 50 football associations, with the European Football Association (UEFA) receiving the highest percentage of referees who will have the opportunity to participate in the first World Cup of 48 teams.
The list includes 9 field referees from 9 Arab countries, they are: 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) and Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan).
The FIFA refereeing committee also includes 8 assistant referees from Arab countries: Mahmoud Abu Al-Regal (Egypt), Zakaria Brinsi and Mustafa Akarkaz (Morocco), Meqrane Gourari and Akram Abbas Zerhouni (Algeria), Mohammed Al-Abkari (Saudi Arabia), Mohammed Al-Hammadi (UAE) and Saud Ahmed Al-Maqaleh (Qatar).
In addition, there are 5 VAR officials representing the Arab countries, they are: Lahlu Benbrahim (Algeria), Mahmoud Ashour (Egypt), Abdullah Jamal (Kuwait), Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar) and Abdullah Al-Shahri (Saudi Arabia).
The upcoming edition of the World Cup will see a record participation of Arab national teams, with 8 qualified teams, half from the African continent: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and half from Asia: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Iraq.
The World Cup finals will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, for the first time in three countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
