Attending the candidate referee training course, Ma Ning aims for another World Cup bid

Special contribution / Jin Cuo Recently, the authoritative referee website Refereeing World revealed that from February 23 to 27 next year, FIFA will hold a World Cup candidate referee training course in Doha, Qatar. Ma Ning is among the participants; now 46 years old, he is once again striving to officiate at the World Cup.

Referees attending this session come from the AFC, CAF, and OFC, including 20 referees from 19 associations (excluding assistant referees and VAR officials). Among them are 10 referees from 9 AFC associations, 9 referees from 9 CAF associations, and 1 referee from an OFC association.

UEFA’s seminar was held from March 31 to April 3, 2025, in Zurich, Switzerland, while CONMEBOL and CONCACAF seminars are scheduled for January 12 to 18, 2026, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Referees from different continents will attend regional seminars, with the final selection expected in early 2026. Through these thorough training sessions, FIFA aims to ensure fairness and transparency in World Cup matches.

Last February, Refereeing World disclosed that 16 referees (including one female referee) from 12 AFC member associations made the candidate list for the 2026 World Cup, with Ma Ning included.

At the Qatar World Cup, 6 AFC referees were selected, partly due to the host nation factor. For the 2026 World Cup, which expands to 48 teams, the referee roster for the finals will also grow accordingly. Specifically for AFC, the number of referees (main referees or fourth officials) is likely to be “6+2” (6 referees plus 2 reserves).

The latest list has been reduced from 16 to 10 referees. Besides Ma Ning, it includes Faghani (Australia), Yusuke Araki (Japan), Mahadmeh (Jordan), Turais (Saudi Arabia), Kaf (Oman), Jassim (Qatar), Farahi (Qatar), Ali (UAE), and Tantashev (Uzbekistan). Referees from South Korea’s Kim Jong-hyuk, Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita (female), Saudi Arabia’s Huwaish, Kuwait’s Ali, Malaysia’s Nasaruddin, and UAE’s Nagbi have been excluded.

Among them, 3 are from East Asia and 7 from West Asia. The oldest are Faghani and Ma Ning, both born before 1980. Normally, for the 6+2 officiating roster, East Asia should occupy at least 2 spots.

Currently, besides the guaranteed positions of Faghani and Tantashev, Ma Ning remains highly competitive. However, if the East and West Asian quotas are strictly enforced, Yusuke Araki could challenge Ma Ning, especially since he recently officiated a playoff match.

Regarding the competition for officiating slots, before participating in the 2022 World Cup, Ma Ning explained that the contest had already begun long ago.

Ma Ning revealed that FIFA’s evaluation period is very lengthy, not limited to just two years before the tournament; it might start as soon as a referee is internationally recognized. Ma Ning officially entered FIFA’s World Cup candidate referee observation in late 2013 and has been under continuous evaluation. Due to his excellent performance in various matches, he earned the right to officiate at the 2022 World Cup.

At that World Cup, Ma Ning served as the fourth official six times during the group stage (USA 1-1 Wales, Spain 7-0 Costa Rica, France 2-1 Denmark, Cameroon 3-3 Serbia, Netherlands 2-0 Qatar, Cameroon 1-0 Brazil) but did not have the opportunity to be the main referee. For him, standing on the World Cup stage fulfilled a dream but left some regret, as he “did not get to blow the whistle.”

Since then, Ma Ning has officiated many important matches, including the opening and final matches of the 2023 Club World Cup (as fourth official), and led the Chinese referee team in the Asian Cup final.

Although the evaluation started long ago, FIFA and AFC strictly assess candidates’ recent performance, with consistency in officiating being the most critical criterion. Referees for the World Cup must maintain stable performance. From the perspective of referee management, inconsistent referees may lose credibility and face disadvantages in match assignments, and referees need full confidence.

This year, Ma Ning officiated 5 AFC Champions League matches (including last season), 1 AFC Cup match, 15 Chinese Super League matches, and 2 World Cup qualifiers (out of 8 total qualifiers). Currently, he, along with Zhou Fei and Zhang Cheng, is officiating at the Arab Cup in Qatar, having handled one qualifier and two group stage matches.

Notably, in September this year, the Chinese Football Association again recommended Ma Ning as a registered international referee for 2026. Next June, he will turn 47, making him the oldest internationally registered referee under the Chinese Football Association.

Besides Ma Ning, Fu Ming, who studied and officiated in Japan this year, made the VAR referee list. According to last February’s disclosed list, he will compete with Singapore’s Taki, Australia’s Evans, Qatar’s Abdullah Mari, Hamis Mari, and Japan’s Junpei Iida.

According to plans, after completing training for all candidate referees from each continent, FIFA’s Referees Committee will meet to discuss the list, with the final roster announced in mid-March next year. Therefore, including this training, the upcoming period will be crucial for FIFA’s referee evaluations.