Well, the process has officially begun. I believe the last two cycles there have been names chosen for the tournament who were NOT on the first list (or at the first seminars). So everything over the next couple months should be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, FIFA just held its first seminar for UEFA candidates. Attendees listed here: 1748055722141561112 is not a valid tweet id A few very notable things: 1) No English referees. Taylor is likely omitted due to age and/or a plan to stand down. Not sure why Oliver isn't there. If it's anything other than a scheduling issue, that suddenly becomes a big hole to watch. 2) Frappart AND Oloffson there as female candidates. I guess this process has to continue because now the lack of female officials at the tournament would become a thing. But there's no way Frappart is worthy above Turpin and Letexier. So unless France sends three referees, it seems like this is a way of Oloffson becoming the designated female candidate from Europe. Of course, that puts Nyberg in a tough spot. 3) No Orsato from Italy so the race is finally on there. Massa is there. Mariani is also there. Guida is not. So FIFA is narrowing its focus in a way that UEFA has not so far. 4) Zwayer is the only German name. So no return for Siebert and no shot for Stieler if this holds, which is an important caveat. Zwayer seemed done when he was left out of 2022, but here is his redemption opportunity. Very unlike Germany not to have things sorted out. The following tweet indicates the CONMEBOL seminar will be in April (in the US) and that three Argentinians are invited. I'm guessing that will double as a CONCACAF seminar so the names of any US/Canadian invitees should leak relatively soon: 1748761022276509937 is not a valid tweet id
No Marciniak is another interesting quirk. It’s also been pointed out elsewhere that Oliver hasn’t worked in awhile.
No. And I don’t think they ever have ahead of time, right? People have made confederational estimates since 2010 and it’s only varied a little. But I don’t think we ever got a firm number ahead of time.
Asia's pre-selection list: https://ibb.co/t8B2MCB Interesting to see no Australian other than Faghani. Also, Ma but no Fu for China. Kim Jong-hyeok is the Korean we all liked who I guess is just too young for consideration? Everything else is what you'd expect, at least by looking at AFC KO assignments (though I imagine this list was cultivated before then). Worth noting Mohammed Mohammed is 45 now, so I presume his lack of inclusion is down to age.
The CONCACAF list is out there, by the way. I haven't seen it yet, but my understanding is that Elfath, Tori Penso and Fischer are on the referee list but not Villarreal. The first FIFA seminar is set for Miami in April.
As you predicted after Penso's performance at the WWC that she would bump Villarreal for one of two American referee spots. Villarreal will end up having such a long FIFA career without ever actually being the #1 US FIFA referee. He'll essentially have one of the longest US international career's without any meaningful on field tournament assignments at the senior level. Maybe he gets invited to the Copa America this summer, but even then he wouldn't get much more than one or two group games. Maybe even at the youth level as well. I can't think of his youth appointments at FIFA tournaments.
The Korean on the list is wrong: not Kim Hee-gon (referee of the Uzbek vs. Qatar QF), but rather Kim Jong-hyeok (he of Iran vs. Syria in the R16) was chosen by FIFA.
1635634399415869446 is not a valid tweet id But last time they added a CONMEBOL referee place and minused one from CONCACAF when drawing up the final list, so it is more a 'working assumption' than sth set in stone.
So I was about to ask who the default OFC referee was going to be now that Conger was out of the picture but... Conger kept his badge for 2024?!? I have many questions. I am somewhat familiar with his back and forth here in the US and with PRO. And his return to do matches in OFC. But, I just presumed all of it meant he wouldn't be re-upped as a FIFA from NZ. I was wrong. So is he in pole position to officiate at 2026? I can't imagine NZ and OFC would keep him on the list if he wasn't. But, boy, that's a surprise to me. Also, with the obvious caveat that these things can change, 6+2 for CONCACAF is very interesting. Elfath, Ramos and Penso are locks unless they get injured or simply choose not to be. Barton has to be a lock. If Fischer is afforded the default opportunity of being a home referee, that leaves one spot and seemingly a fight between Martinez and Escobar. Though if Escobar's 2022 performance matters, maybe there's just no real competition here at all (presuming everyone performs to expectations, which might be a big presumption, of course).
This list was released mid-tournament, so before all that happened. Jiyed would be 47 by the time of the next WC, and while I think he is/was a good referee, you can't deny that he is a completely different case than Faghani (for his faults), the Iranian will be 48 by 2026.
Conger isn't on the OFC preselected list this time. It is only Anna-Marie Keighley's wife Kawana-Waugh who was reserve at the last Club WC and a guy from Soloman Islands, so my prediction for who is each '1' in the '1+1' is already in .
He's 37 right now. Seems like he's the obvious candidate for the #1 spot after 2026. But yeah, juxtaposed against when some very important people thought he'd be the #1, that's like a shift of a decade. Reminder that mapping out the future for these sort of things is very challenging. And that's something to keep in mind even when I say he's the obvious candidate to be #1 in 2027.
Well now I'm extra confused. The lengths he had to go to in order to keep that badge (and for NZ and OFC to want to keep him) and then to not be a candidate for the WC in your country of birth... not sure I'm going to make sense out of this one.
So he'll be 43 in 2030. He got his FIFA badge in 2015. If he's around in 2030 that means he would be about a year shy of being the longest serving US FIFA referee. I think Marrufo has the record from 2007 to 2022. Villarreal would surely hold the record of longest time between having a FIFA badge and making your on field World Cup debut. Has there been any referee to make their World Cup debut after having been a FIFA referee for that long?
No idea. Another thing to keep in mind is that Villarreal seems a top candidate to return as a VAR in 2026. So there's also, potentially, the Irrati path for him now. He could theoretically go to three World Cups as a VAR. Being a top referee in MLS and a top international VAR is nothing to sneeze at, if that is the eventuality for him. Though obviously I'm sure he still wants to get on the field for FIFA events.
He's gonna go to 2026 and maybe beyond as a VAR. No doubt about that. However no current or former international referee aspires to go to the World Cup as a VAR. If it is nothing or VAR, of course they'll take the VAR. Villarreal hasn't dedicated his entire life to this with the hopes being a World Cup VAR. His goals have always been to make it as far as he can internationally as a referee.
it’s a good reminder that this isn’t a pure meritocracy. You can be very good and still fall short. “not everything is a lesson - sometimes you just fail” (and no, I’m not describing his career as a failure, I’m just using one of my favorite quotes here)
Of course absolutely you're right! I mean Kevin Stott is maybe the best American referee ever (at least domestically) and all he was able to achieve at the World Cup level is a couple of 4th officials. Life is not fair at the highest levels. Every official knows that. Villarreal isn't the type who would throw a petulant hissy fit if he didn't get selected as an onfield official for 2026 or 2030 or even if he didn't go at all. He wouldn't just stop wearing his FIFA badge as a sign of protest like some other long time US FIFA referee. But deep down you have to believe there wouldn't be any disappointment, frustration, and jealousy. It's human nature. Villarreal and Elfath both came up together and entered MLS at the same. Villarreal was the one that immediately looked like an MLS referee and future international referee. Elfath looked like he had no business refereeing a competitive amatuer match. Now Elfath is a World Cup Final Candidate while Villarreal is hoping against hope he can get a meaningless group stage match between Panama and Portugal. Somewhere Villarreal is saying to himself "I should be a World Cup Final candidate and not Ismael." All of these guys are very humble, but also very competitive and prideful. It's part of the reason they are where they are. After the 2018 World Cup, Jair Marrufo spoke about his World Cup experience. He was utterly grateful and proud to have gotten a single match. However, he also talked how he wanted more and was basically envious of Geiger and Co. He thought he should have been the one doing World Cup knockout matches instead of Geiger.
I’m a bit surprised to see Ma, who will be 47 during the 2026 World Cup, and Faghani, who will be 48, are still in the picture. I think, to an extent, that speaks to the lack of elite referees apparent for Asia right now. Trying to find 6 (or even 5 + Yamashita, which is unfortunately what they’re probably gonna do) referees who are World-Cup-ready on that list is really stretching things if you don’t include the two old heads. I would’ve thought Mohammed would be in the same boat as Ma, but maybe it was a personal choice by him. This is great to hear. Sample size of 1 single match for me, of course, but he really looked the part. Excited to see more from him in the future.