2023 Women's World Cup: Four British officials picked by Fifa
- Published
Cheryl Foster became the first Welsh woman to referee at a major tournament, when she officiated at the Women's Euro 2022
Four British match officials have been appointed by Fifa for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Wales' Cheryl Foster, 42, will join England's Rebecca Welch, 39, in a team of 33 international referees.
English assistant referees Natalie Aspinall, 41, and Sian Massey-Ellis, 37, will also feature in Australia and New Zealand in July and August.
Aspinall is one of 55 assistant referees selected while Massey-Ellis is one of 19 video match officials.
Former Liverpool striker Foster officiated at this summer's Women's Euro 2022, while Welch has also refereed a number of women's internationals and the 2017 and 2020 Women's FA Cup finals.
In August, Aspinall became the third female assistant referee to be appointed by the Premier League, following in the footsteps of Wendy Toms and Massey-Ellis, who was the first Englishwoman to also officiate in a men's European fixture and the Community Shield.
"The criteria we have used is 'quality first' and the selected on-field match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide," said the chairman of the Fifa referees committee, Pierluigi Collina.