For the first time ever, women will be officiating at the AFC Asian Cup, to be held in Qatar in January-February 2024. (More Football News)
Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita, one of six women officials who were historically selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, will lead the ensemble of five female match officials appointed for Asia’s most prestigious men’s national team competition.
At the same time, the most experienced men officials include Alireza Faghani, who will be officiating in his third AFC Asian Cup as well as Qatar’s Abdulrahman Al-Jassim, who oversaw the 2022 World Cup third-place playoff between Croatia and Morocco.
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A record 74 match officials have been appointed for the tournament, which is scheduled to be held from 12 January to 10 February 2024, across nine venues.
A total of 35 referees and 39 assistant referees – including two standby nominees for each position – from 18 member associations have been selected.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will make its full debut in Qatar, following its successful implementation from the quarterfinal stage in the last edition in the United Arab Emirates.
The appointed referees will gather in Kuala Lumpur in October for a final seminar before all appointed match officials assemble in Qatar for a seven-day preparatory course prior to the competition.
