Governing Bodies
Women’s referees breaking new ground as FIFA Women’s World Cup approaches
The professionalism of women’s refereeing is reaching unparalleled levels, according to Kari Seitz, FIFA Head of Refereeing, Women, a fact that bodes well for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, which starts in just a couple of months.
Speaking at the Making Trade Score for Women! event held at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Seitz believes the global nature of the 33 referees, 55 assistant referees and 19 video match officials who have been selected to oversee the tournament, will continue to help to grow the popularity of women refereeing across the world.
“We are seeing countries represented through their refereeing teams, who otherwise would not have been taken part in the Women’s World Cup.,” said the former American official who officiated at four FIFA Women’s World Cups between 1999 and 2011.
“We will have referees at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from Mali, from Togo, from Kyrgyzstan, from Palestine, who have been selected based on their qualities.
While their teams have not qualified, their referees have, and so offering even more opportunities for women in football.”
The professionalisation of women’s refereeing has played a large factor in the increase ability of women’s referees to officiate at the highest level, according to Seitz.
Some top officials no longer need to have a second job and the ability to concentrate on their profession is paying dividends, which was reflected at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
By officiating the group-stage match between Costa Rica and Germany, Stéphanie Frappart, Karen Diaz and Neuza Back made history as they were the first female match officials to take charge of a game at the FIFA World Cup finals.
“Let’s see, the women at the men’s [FIFA] World Cup, as referees. This is a competition that in [its] 92-year history, had no women referees, and now we had six across the globe at the [right] quality to officiate at the tournament,” Seitz mentioned.
“This is a big statement and a big change in what’s possible for women in football. We talk about women’s football, and we talk about women in football, so that change is very positive. We’ve had so many firsts in just the last few years, you know.”
As the women’s game continues to develop, Seitz is adamant that women’s refereeing needs to continue to develop at a similar pace as the players deserve to have the best possible officiating standards.
Seitz is particularly proud of the number of “firsts being achieved” within recent years, which has propelled female referees and their profession into the global spotlight.
“As of 2017, we only had women at three international men’s competitions, and now women referees have officiated in over 25 Men’s International Competitions – for example, we are talking about the men’s champions league[s] in both Europe, Asia, and North and Central America.
We’re talking about the [CONMEBOL] Libertadores, so South America,” said Seitz.
“We’re talking about in Africa, and in the African Cup of Nations for men, that we’ve had women referees. [It’s] incredible [to see] this kind of momentum [in just a few years].
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria is set to host the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), marking the third time the country will stage the continent’s top football gathering.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, approved Nigeria’s proposal to host the event.
The approval followed a meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe, attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
Sports Villages Square affirms that Nigeria previously hosted the CAF Congress at the National Theatre in Lagos in March 1980 and again in February 2009, when the late CAF President Issa Hayatou secured another four-year term in office.
In addition to this year’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly, scheduled for October, Nigeria also secured the hosting rights of the CAF Awards ceremony. The annual awards gala, which celebrates Africa’s top football performers, has been staged in Morocco over the past three years.
Nigeria had earlier hosted the CAF Awards when telecom firm, Globacom, was the headline sponsor. This year’s event will be the seventh to be held in Nigeria after those of 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally attracts key football stakeholders from across the continent, including presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions and senior football administrators.
The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as one of African football’s flagship events, honouring outstanding players, coaches, clubs and officials in a glamorous setting that showcases the continent’s football excellence.
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FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee has banned former Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves from all football-related activities for five years after finding he sexually harassed female staff members.
FIFA also fined Alves 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,000) after determining that he had breached provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics relating to the protection of physical and mental integrity, abuse of position and general duties.
“FIFA has a strict stance against all forms of abuse in football,” the organisation said on Monday.
The decision followed a review of written statements from the victims, documents provided by the GFF, submissions from Alves, and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
Alves stepped down from his position in 2024.
The ban came into force on Monday, when the terms of the decision were notified to Alves, and the full grounds for the ruling will be communicated within 60 days in accordance with the Code of Ethics, FIFA added.
The GFF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alves could not immediately be reached for comment.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that he planned to seek re-election for a fourth term in a bid to continue to lead the governing body of world soccer.
Infantino confirmed he would run for the 2027–2031 term in the closing moments of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which comes less than two months before the start of the World Cup.
The election will be held on March 18 in Morocco, which is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup.
Infantino said he was “honoured and humbled” to have the chance to run for a fourth term.
The Italian-Swiss took office in 2016, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.
Infantino has pushed for the expansion of FIFA competitions during his tenure, with this year’s World Cup in North America the first to feature 48 teams, while the women’s tournament in 2023 has been expanded to 32 teams.
Infantino’s tenure has also drawn some criticism over issues such as high World Cup ticket prices and the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.
Earlier this month, the council of South American football’s governing body (CONMEBOL) said in a statement it would unanimously support the 56-year-old if he decided to seek another term.
-Reuters
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