A wave of excitement sweeps across the continent as ten African referees earn spots on the preliminary shortlist for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to unfold across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Africasoccer.com reports.

The expanded tournament will feature 48 teams, with Africa receiving nine automatic qualification slots. FIFA has reportedly released preliminary referee lists that include ten African officials in contention to officiate at the event.

Moroccan referee Hamza El Farouk may also participate as part of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team.

However, FIFA and the Confederation of African Football have not finalized the list of match officials and have dismissed recent media reports as unconfirmed.

The referee selection process involves multiple technical and physical assessments. Officials are evaluated during continental and international matches before final appointments are made.

The preliminary list will be narrowed in the coming months as referees undergo further evaluations before the official announcement. With the 2026 World Cup set to be the largest in history and hosted across three countries, African referees hope to secure a significant presence at the tournament.

Preliminary list of African referees:

Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Jean-Jacques Ndala (DR Congo)

Amin Omar (Egypt)

Pierre Atcho (Gabon)

Beida Dahane (Mauritania)

Issa Sy (Senegal)

Omar Artan (Somalia)

Tom Abunjil (South Africa)

Mahmoud Ismail (Sudan)

Jalal Jiyed (Morocco)