The world of arbitration is ceasing to be an exclusive preserve of men. The referees are making their way by leaps and bounds. If in the past 2020 Stéphanie Frappart made history by becoming the first woman to lead a Champions League match and before Bibiane steinhaus was a pioneer in refereeing in the Bundesliga or Guadalupe Porras In the Spanish League, a female name has emerged from today to go down in history.
It's about the Brazilian Edina Alves Batista. FIFA has appointed her to be part of the list of seven referees to direct the next matches Club World Cup, which will be held in Qatar between February 1 and 11.
The FIFA Referees Committee has chosen to include a female trio led by Alves, with extensive international experience in women's world tournaments, including the 2019 World Cup in France, where she refereed the US-England semifinal. Edina will have her compatriot as assistants Neuza Back and Argentina Mariana de Almeida.
Four months ago, the 40-year-old Brazilian admitted that her big dream was “to lead a match in an absolute men's competition.” In a few weeks you will.
This trio continues the course set in the U'17 World Cup in India'17, where the Swiss Esther Staubli led a match, and followed by the Uruguayan Claudia Umpiérrez, who refereed two in the U'17 World Cup Brazil 2019.
The Guatemalan Mario Escobar and the Uruguayan Leodan González were also elected, while those in charge of the VAR include the Chilean Julio Bascuñán and the Colombian Nicolás Gallo.