Excitement is building for the 2023 Women's World Cup, as 32 nations are in their final stages of preparation for the tournament taking place in Australia and New Zealand.
The likes of England and the USA are the favourites to win the biggest prize in women's football, while France and Australia will be looking for a little bit of luck to take them to an unlikely triumph.
They will also be hoping to get the rub of the green in terms of decisions made by the match officials, with the referees and their assistants sure to have an impact on the fate of teams at certain points in the tournament.
The Sporting News looks at all the referees, assistant referees and VARs who will be watching over all 64 matches at the Women's World Cup.
MORE: Which teams have qualified for Women's World Cup 2023?
Women's World Cup 2023 referees: Full list of officials
FIFA announced the full list of officials taking part in the Women's World on January 9.
There are 33 main referees, 55 assistant referees and 19 video match officials manning the VAR.
These include representatives from every confederation, with UEFA having the most officials at the tournament.
Referees at Women's World Cup 2023
| Referee | Country |
|---|---|
| Kate Jacewicz | AUS |
| Casey Reibelt | AUS |
| Yoshimi Yamashita | JPN |
| Oh Hyeon-Jeong | KOR |
| Kim Yu-Jeong | KOR |
| Bouchra Karaboubi | MAR |
| Salima Mukansanga | RWA |
| Akhona Makalima | RSA |
| Vincentia Amedome | TOG |
| Marie-Soleil Beaudoin | CAN |
| Myriam Marcotte | CAN |
| Marianela Araya | CRC |
| Melissa Borjas | HON |
| Katia Garcia | MEX |
| Katja Koroleva | USA |
| Tori Penso | USA |
| Laura Fortunato | ARG |
| Edina Alves Batista | BRA |
| Maria Carvajal | CHI |
| Anahi Fernandez | URU |
| Emikar Calderas Barrera | VEN |
| Anna-Marie Keighley | NZL |
| Ivana Martinic | CRO |
| Rebecca Welch | ENG |
| Stephanie Frappart | FRA |
| Lina Lehtovaara | FIN |
| Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi | ITA |
| Iuliana Demetrescu | ROU |
| Marta Huerta de Aza | ESP |
| Tess Olofsson | SWE |
| Esther Staubli | SWI |
| Kateryna Monzul | UKR |
| Cheryl Foster | WAL |
Assistant referees at Women's World Cup 2023
| Referre | Country |
|---|---|
| Joanna Charaktis | AUS |
| Sarah Ho May Yee | AUS |
| Xie Lijun | CHN |
| Makoto Bozono | JPN |
| Naomi Teshirogi | JPN |
| Ramina Tsoi | KGZ |
| Heba Saadia | PLE |
| Kim Kyoung-min | KOR |
| Park Misum | KOR |
| Lee Seul-i | KOR |
| Carine Atezambong Fomo | CMR |
| Mary Njoroge | KEN |
| Fanta Kone | MLI |
| Queency Victoire | MRI |
| Soukaina Hamdi | MAR |
| Fatiha Jermoumi | MAR |
| Diana Chikotesha | ZAM |
| Chantal Boudreau | CAN |
| Shirley Perello | HON |
| Stephanie Yee Sing | JAM |
| Enedina Caudillo | MEX |
| Karen Diaz Medina | MEX |
| Sandra Ramirez | MEX |
| Mijensa Rensch | SUR |
| Felisha Mariscal | USA |
| Brooke Mayo | USA |
| Kathryn Nesbitt | USA |
| Mariana de Almedia | ARG |
| Daiana Milone | ARG |
| Neuza Back | BRA |
| Leila Moreira da Cruz | BRA |
| Loreto Toloza | CHI |
| Leslie Vasquez | CHI |
| Mary Blanco Bolivar | COL |
| Monica Amoya | ECU |
| Migdalia Rodriguez Chirino | VEN |
| Sarah Jones | NZL |
| Maria Salamasina | SAM |
| Sanja Rodak-Karisc | CRO |
| Polyzeni Irodotou | CYP |
| Lucie Ratajova | CZE |
| Natalie Aspinall | ENG |
| Karolin Kaivoja | EST |
| Elodie Coppola | FRA |
| Manuela Nicolosi | FRA |
| Katrin Rafalski | GER |
| Chrysoula Kourompylia | GRE |
| Anita Vlad | HUN |
| Francesca Di Monte | ITA |
| Michelle O'Neill | IRE |
| Franca Overtoom | NET |
| Paulina Baranowska | POL |
| Mihaela Tepusa | ROU |
| Guadalupe Porras Ayuso | ESP |
| Sussane Kung | SWI |
| Maryna Striletska | UKR |
VAR officials at 2023 Women's World Cup
The Women's World Cup will also feature VAR at every match, the second time video officials will be used after debuting at the 2019 tournament.
There has been an increase from 15 VAR operators to 19 in Australia and New Zealand.
Six of the VAR officials are female.
| Referee | Country |
|---|---|
| Chris Beath | AUS |
| Abdulla Al-Marri | QAT |
| Muhammad Taqi | SIN |
| Carol Anne Chenard | CAN |
| Drew Fischer | CAN |
| Tatiana Guzman | NIC |
| Armando Villarreal | USA |
| Salome Di Iorio | ARG |
| Daiane Muniz dos Santos | BRA |
| Nicolas Gallo | COL |
| Juan Soto | VEN |
| Ella De Vries | BEL |
| Sian Massey-Ellis | ENG |
| Marco Fritz | GER |
| Massimiliano Irrati | ITA |
| Pol van Boekel | NET |
| Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez | ESP |
| Juan Martinez Munuera | ESP |
Who refereed the 2019 Women's World Cup Final?
French official Stephanie Frappart refereed the 2019 Women's World Cup final between the USA and the Netherlands.
The USA won the match 2-0 thanks to two goals in eight second-half minutes, one of which was a penalty awarded after a VAR review, as Frappart initially allowed a kick to the shoulder from Stefanie van der Gragt to go unpunished. She handed out three yellow cards during the match.
Frappart is one of the most respected officials in the sport and has achieved a number of firsts as a female referee. She took charge of the 2019 UEFA Super Cup match between Liverpool and Chelsea and made her men's Champions League debut a year later when Juventus faced Dynamo Kyiv.
A regular fixture at men's Ligue 1 matches, Frappart refereed the 2022 Coupe de France final between Nice and Nantes and closed the year as the main official for the men's 2022 World Cup match between Germany and Costa Rica.