The road towards the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 for the Continent’s elite match officials was charted during the 4th AFC Referees Committee Meeting. Led virtually by Chairperson Hany Taleb Al-Raeesi, the meeting locked in key preparation milestones to ensure the Continent's refereeing standards match the magnitude of the upcoming 19th edition. This will begin with the announcement of the selected match officials in September 2026, based on stringent criteria that includes continuous assessment of their performances from 2023 to 2026, fitness levels, medical clearance and psychological aspects, to determine their suitability for one of three roles: Referee, Assistant Referee and Video Match Official. Thereafter, preparations will ramp up with the AFC Asian Cup Referees Seminar in November 2026 and the AFC Asian Cup Preparatory Course that takes place in the week preceding the opening match of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 on January 7.
The continued excellence of AFC match officials on the global stage was also highlighted, in particular the various milestones that were set during the recently-concluded FIFA World Cup 2026. The appointment of a 25-strong Asian cast was a record number in tournament history, with Alireza Faghani becoming the first Asian referee to be appointed to four consecutive FIFA World Cups and Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Shehri - serving as a VMO - becoming the first-ever appointment of an AFC Referee Academy graduate at the global showpiece, while Jordan’s Adham Makhadmeh served as fourth official in the final match, alongside compatriot Mohammad Alkalaf and Qatar’s Khamis Al Marri, who were appointed as Reserve Assistant Referee and Support VAR, respectively. The World Cup crew was among the match officials who performed their duties across a total of 10 AFC competitions, seven FIFA competitions and two UEFA competitions over the past year.
The Committee also hailed the pivotal role of the groundbreaking AFC Referee Academy, which has consistently driven the Confederation’s Vision and Mission of developing top-level match officials and providing crucial support to the AFC Member Associations (MAs). Since its launch in 2017, 45 MAs have participated in the Academy and the latest cohort—Batch 8—is due for enrolment this month, even as Batches 4 (class of 2022) and 5 (2023) look forward to their graduation in September. Meanwhile, the inaugural batch of futsal referees, who began their journey last year, have already completed four modules to date. It was noted that Academy graduates were entrusted with responsibilities at the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand 2026, AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026, FIFA Arab Cup 2025 and FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025, while eight Academy graduates were appointed to the Knockout Stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League (1), AFC Champions League Two (2) and AFC Challenge League (5) for the 2025/26 campaign.
Source: AFC