Rabat- Three Moroccan female referees Bouchra Karboubi, Soukaina Hamdi, and Fatiha Jermoumi are set to officiate at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFA confirmed on Monday.
The world football’s governing body selected the three renowned Moroccan referees to oversee the global tournament which is expected to take place between 20 July and 20 August in Australia and New Zealand.
FIFA’s list of appointed match officials features Bouchra Karboubi as its main referee while Fatiha Jermoumi and Soukaina Hamdi were named assistant referees for the international tournament.
Meanwhile, Moroccan referee Adil Zourak will serve as the video match official (VMOs).
The trio were selected for their quality and recent performances at FIFA tournaments as well as other international and domestic competitions, according to FIFA.
“As always, the criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected on-field match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide,” said the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina.
Karboubi made headlines in 2022 after she became the first female referee to officiate the final match of Morocco’s Throne Cup.
In the same match, Fatiha Jermoumi was also chosen as Karboubi’s assistant referee.
Read Also: Bouchra Karkoubi Becomes Throne Cup Final’s First Female Referee
Karboubi set another personal milestone in 2020 when she became the first female referee to oversee a match in Morocco’s top-tier professional football league, the Botola Pro 1.
Jermoumi was also present as an assistant referee during the historic match, reflecting the Royal Moroccan Football Federation’s (FRMF) vision of promoting and regularly selecting female referees to oversee men’s games.
