From War-Torn Somalia To The World Stage: Omar Artan’s FIFA World Cup Appointment
- Soccer
- April 9, 2026
- 179
- 21 minutes read
Omar Abdulkadir Artan Makes History As First Somali Referee Selected for FIFA World Cup 2026

Omar Abdulkadir Artan, a 34-year-old Somali football referee, has made history as the first Somali referee to officiate at a FIFA World Cup, set to take place in Canada, Mexico, and the USA in 2026. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, Artan’s journey is a testament to resilience and determination, given the country’s tumultuous past
Growing up in a war-torn country, Artan’s path to becoming a top referee wasn’t easy. He began officiating local league games in Mogadishu, often in challenging environments, and worked his way up to become one of Somalia’s most respected referees.

His big break came when he became the first Somali referee to officiate a continental final, overseeing Egypt’s Pyramids FC vs. South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in Cairo .
Artan’s selection for the FIFA World Cup is a monumental achievement, not just for him, but for Somali football. It’s a symbol of hope and inspiration for young Somalis, showing that with hard work and dedication, they can achieve greatness on the global stage. His success has also prompted clubs and leagues to explore structured referee development programs, paving the way for future generations .
FIFA has finally released the list of selected officials for 2026 World Cup, to be played in Canada, Mexico and USA.

Here are the selected Match Officials.
Referees
Abdulrahman AL JASSIM
Khalid AL TURAIS
Yusuke ARAKI
Omar Abdulkadir ARTAN
Pierre ATCHO
Ivan BARTON
Dahane BEIDA
Juan Gabriel BENITEZ
Juan CALDERON
Raphael CLAUS
Ismail ELFATH
Espen ESKAS
Alireza FAGHANI
Yael FALCON PEREZ
Drew FISCHER
Cristian GARAY
Katia GARCIA
Mustapha GHORBAL
Alejandro HERNANDEZ
Dario HERRERA
Jalal JAYED
Campbell-Kirk KAWANA-WAUGH
Istvan KOVACS
Francois LETEXIER
Ning MA
Adham MAKHADMEH
Danny MAKKELIE
Szymon MARCINIAK
Maurizio MARIANI
Hector Said MARTINEZ
Amin MOHAMED
Oshane NATION
Glenn NYBERG
Michael OLIVER
Omar AL ALI
Kevin ORTEGA
Tori PENSO
Joao PINHEIRO
Ramon ABBATI
Cesar RAMOS
Andres ROJAS
Sandro SCHAERER
Ilgiz TANTASHEV
Anthony TAYLOR
Gustavo TEJERA
Facundo TELLO
Abongile TOM
Clement TURPIN
Jesus VALENZUELA
Slavko VINCIC
Wilton SAMPAIO
Felix ZWAYER
Assistant Referees
Amos ABEIGNE
Mahmoud ABOUELREGAL
Mostafa AKARKAD
Mohammed AL ABAKRY
Mohamed AL HAMMADI
Mohammad AL KALAF
Saoud AL MAQALEH
Taleb AL MARRI
Ahmad AL ROALLE
Lyes ARFA
Kyle ATKINS
Carlos BARREIRO
Micheal BARWEGEN
Isaak BASHEVKIN
Mahbod BEIGI
Juan Pablo BELATTI
Gary BESWICK
Daniele BINDONI
Marco BISGUERRA
Zakaria BRINSI
Bruno BOSCHILIA
Bruno PIRES
Stuart BURT
Eduardo CARDOZO
Gabriel CHADE
Danilo MANIS
Nicolas DANOS
Stephane DE ALMEIDA
Jan DE VRIES
Maximiliano DEL YESSO
Christian DIETZ
Boris DITSOGA
Jan Erik ENGAN
Rodrigo FIGUEIREDO
Timur GAYNULLIN
Mokrane GOURARI
Alexander GUZMAN
Ahmed HOSSAM TAHA
Jerson SANTOS
Bruno JESUS
Robert KEMPTER
Tomaz KLANCNIK
Andraz KOVACIC
Adam KUPSIK
George LAKRINDIS
James LINDSAY
Tomasz LISTKIEWICZ
Walter LOPEZ
Luciano MAIA
James MAINWARING
Mihai MARICA
Brooke MAYO
Jun MIHARA
Juan Carlos MORA
David MORAN
Tulio MORENO
Alberto MORIN
Cyril MUGNIER
Cristian NAVARRO
Kathryn NESBITT
Elvis NOUPUE
Adam NUNN
Michael ORUE
Benjamin PAGES
Corey PARKER
Antonio PUPIRO
Rafael ALVES
Christian RAMIREZ
Sandra RAMIREZ
Mehdi RAHMOUNI
Jose RETAMAL
Miguel ROCHA
Facundo RODRIGUEZ
Milciades SALDIVAR
Diego SANCHEZ
Zakhele SIWELA
Andreas SODERKVIST
Hessel STEEGSTRA
Nicolas TARAN
Alberto TEGONI
Isaac TREVIS
Andrey TSAPENKO
Ferencz TUNYOGI
Jorge URREGO
Caleb WALES
Abbes Akram ZERHOUNI
Fei ZHOU
Video Match Officials
Khamis AL-MARRI
Abdullah ALSHEHRI
Mahmoud ASHOUR
Ivan BEBEK
Jerome BRISARD
Bastian DANKERT
Carlos DEL CERRO GRANDE
Marco DI BELLO
Joe DICKERSON
Rob DIEPERINK
Hamza EL FARIQ
Shaun EVANS
Fu MING
Nicolas GALLO
Antonio GARCIA
Jarred GILLETT
Leodan GONZALEZ
Tatiana GUZMAN
Dennis HIGLER
Tomasz KWIATKOWSKI
Juan LARA
Hernan MASTRANGELO
Erick MIRANDA
Mohammed OBAID KHADIM
Guillermo PACHECO
Fedayi SAN
Juan SOTO
Rodolpho TOSKI
Bram VAN DRIESSCHE
Armando VILLARREAL
Artan’s story is a shining example of Somali talent and perseverance, and his achievement will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on Somali football.