Record number of officials appointed to #WAC2026
—- The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed its largest-ever cast of match officials for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™, taking place from March 1 to 21.
A total of 45 officials from across 20 Member Associations, comprising 14 referees and 16 assistant referees, including two standby officials for each position, as well as 11 Video Match Officials (VMOs), have been appointed for the Continental showpiece that will be staged in world-class venues across three host cities of Perth, Gold Coast and Sydney, including those that hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be implemented from the Group Stage for the first time in the competition’s history, marking another milestone in the Confederation’s continuous efforts to uphold the highest officiating standards.The cast will be anchored by the experience of Australia’s Casey Reibelt, Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita, and Korea Republic’s Oh Hyeon-jeong and Kim Yu-jeong, each having officiated at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and now set to contribute their expertise once again at the Continent’s premier women’s national team competition.The quartet will be joined by Lara Lee (AUS), Mahnaz Zokaee (IRN), Asaka Koizumi (JPN), Pansa Chaisanit (THA), and Veronika Bernatskaia (KGZ), who have all appeared in earlier editions of the tournament. In a key milestone for the acclaimed AFC Referee Academy, the roster will also include two graduates from the institution, namely Dong Fangyu and Tian Jin, both hailing from China PR. In 2024, Dong created history as the first Academy graduate to officiate at a FIFA competition when she was appointed to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.Meanwhile, compatriot Tian also etched her name in the record books as the first female referee to officiate a professional men’s match in the Chinese Super League.Also making their debuts at the tournament are Supiree Testhomya (THA), Le Thi Ly (VIE), and Doumouh Ibrahim Albakkar (LBN). Supiree has overseen fixtures at regional competitions, including the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship, while Albakkar is the first woman to referee a men’s Premier League match in Lebanon.Finally, completing the coterie of debutants is Vietnam’s Ly, whose credentials include the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2024 as well as officiating duties across the AFC’s revamped men’s club competitions.Additionally, to ensure maximum preparedness, the appointed officials will also attend the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Referees Seminar in December. To see the full list of officials, please click here.