FIFA names 54 Refs for Chile U-20 World Cup

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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 28: Football Unites the World Referee during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between SE Palmeiras and Botafogo FR at Lincoln Financial Field on June 28, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Dustin Satloff - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Match officials appointed for FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™

Fifty-four officials selected: 18 referees and 36 assistant referees
Football Video Support (FVS) to be used across the competition
Tournament to commence on 27 September and conclude on 19 October

The FIFA Referees Committee has announced the match officials who will oversee games at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™, which will take place from 27 September to 19 October. A total of 54 match officials (18 referees and 36 assistant referees) from 22 FIFA Member Associations are set to take charge of the matches.

“Following the success of the FIFA Club World Cup, we look forward to another exciting tournament, for which we have once again appointed a very strong Team One line-up. From a refereeing perspective, it’s very important that the officials have the opportunity to be involved at a tournament featuring the stars of tomorrow and for us to carry out further testing of Football Video Support (FVS), which has been a great success so far,” said the Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina.

The use of Football Video Support (FVS) at the tournament follows on from the trials implemented last year at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ in Colombia and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ in the Dominican Republic.

The FVS trials followed numerous requests from member associations for an alternative, cost-effective way of using technology to support match officials. Unlike the video assistant referee (VAR) system, FVS does not use dedicated video match officials and therefore does not check all match-changing incidents. Instead, the onus falls on the respective head coaches, who are allowed to make a limited number of review requests per game when they feel that a clear and obvious error has been made in match-changing incidents, such as goals, penalty decisions, direct red card incidents or cases of mistaken identity. The players can also recommend that their coaches request a review.

“Chile is a football-loving country, and we have an excellent opportunity to ensure that this year’s edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup leaves a legacy on a refereeing level. The (FIFA) U-20 World Cup is a highly competitive tournament that requires officials to have a sound reading of the game,” noted FIFA Director of Refereeing Massimo Busacca.