History. For the first time, a FIFA-sanctioned world tournament in a youth category will be entirely refereed by women. On Wednesday 1 June, the FIFA refereeing committee announced the complete list of referees for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which will take place in Costa Rica from 10 to 28 August 2022. It is composed exclusively of female officials. In total, 13 referees, 26 assistant referees and 14 video assistant referees. “This is the next important milestone in the preparation of the potential candidates for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023,” said Pierluigi Collina, the Italian chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee. The U20 Women’s World Cup is the next step in the preparation of potential candidates for next year’s World Cup. After the long months of the pandemic and all the difficulties that have arisen in the preparation of the referees, we are delighted with the opportunity of this event in Costa Rica”. As a reminder, the 1999 Women’s World Cup in the United States was the first in history where the referees were exclusively women. Another first at FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica is the use of VAR technology in a FIFA women’s youth tournament.
