From War-Torn Somalia To The World Stage: Omar Artan’s FIFA World Cup Appointment

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.