World Soccer Ruling Body, FIFA, has confirmed the appointment of Nigeria’s assistant referee Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka as part of the match officials at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
The tournament will be hosted by Costa Rica, which would have hosted the 2020 edition before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it will be held between August 10 and 28 across two host cities of Alajuela and San José.
Apart from Iyorhe, five other match officials from the CAF region were also listed for the tournament where Nigeria and Ghana are the continent’s flagbearers. South African Akhona Makalima and Togolese Vincentia Amedome are the two centre referees while the trio of Cameroon’s Carine Atezambong, Fanta Kone (Mali) and Diana Chikotesha (Zambia) are to serve as assistant referees.
There are also Moroccan duo of Bouchra Karboubi and Fatiha Jermoumi who are to serve as Video assistant referee (VAR) and assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) respectively.
Altogether, 13 women referees, 27 women assistant referees and 14 video match officials will take charge of the matches.
Speaking on the appointments, chairman of FIFA’s Referees Committee Pierluigi Collina, said the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup offers the match officials the opportunity as ‘potential candidates’ for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand.
“The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is the next important milestone in the preparation of the potential candidates for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023,” Collina said. “After two years of the pandemic and all the difficulties that have arisen with the preparation of match officials, we are looking forward to this important competition in Costa Rica.”
“By working with clear objectives and standards, while always aiming for uniformity and consistency in decision-making, we are convinced that another significant step will be taken towards the FIFA Women’s World Cup next year,” he added.
With video technology to be used for the first time in a FIFA youth women’s competition, FIFA’s Head of Refereeing, Women Kari Seitz underlines the significance of the championship in Costa Rica.
She said: “We are delighted to write a new chapter in women’s football history. The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will not be only the first FIFA youth women’s tournament in which the VAR technology will be used, but it will be also the first competition in which the team of video match officials will be all women.
“FIFA has been working tirelessly to encourage the development of women VARs globally, as most women’s football does not yet use VAR. This event will be a great opportunity to showcase the skills of the selected women VARs and also an opportunity to continue the development our women VARs as part of the Road to Australia/New Zealand 2023 project,” Seitz noted.
