The world's biggest football tournament FIFA World Cup 2022 is all set to begin at the Gulf nation Qatar from November 2022. Post-pandemic delays have pushed back the event and now it will take place in November 2022. This is the first time that the mega event will be played during winters, as FIFA has been hosting it during summers since its inception. Another new element of Qatar 2022 will be the presence of women referees. This is the first time women referees will be involved in a men's World Cup.

On 19th May 2022, the FIFA referee committee had announced the 36 referees including three women referee and three women assistant  to officiate the month-long tournament. The three names includes Stephanie Frappart from France, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan. While the assistant referees are Kathryn Nesbitt from USA, Karen Diaz Medina from Mexico and Neuza Back from Brazil. 


It is probably most likely that France's Stéphanie Frappart will get a starring role, as she has broken several barriers in European soccer. In European soccer, Frappart earned a stellar reputation as the first woman to referee men in the Champions League, France's top division, and World Cup qualifying games. She has also officiated the men's French Cup final this month.

Alongside Frappart, Japanese referee Yamashita and Rwandan referee Salima are also well-known in their field of refereeing. The first female referee to officiate an Asian Champions League match was Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan. Australia's Melbourne City took on South Korea's Jeonnam Dragons. While Salima is the first woman from Rwanda to officiate at a FIFA Women's World Cup, the first woman ever to officiate at the men's Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and now to the men's FIFA World Cup. 

Frappart, Yamashita and Salina alongside other officials are now gearing up for their biggest assignment, refereeing the Men's FIFA World Cup 2022 which is schedule between November 21 to December 18 2022. 

The deployment of female referees at FIFA's men's junior and senior tournaments culminated a long process that started some time ago, according to Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of the FIFA referees committee. "We emphasize this way it is the quality of the referees that matters, not gender."

Hence, Qatar 2022 has been a World Cup full of firsts: it will be played for the first time in the Middle East, in November and December, and with a female referee.