Five more Indian match officials have been added to the FIFA International List of Match Officials for 2026. Rachana Kamani (Gujarat), along with Ashwin Kumar (Puducherry) and Aditya Purkayastha (Delhi), have been included in the FIFA list of women’s and men’s referees, respectively.
Meanwhile, Muralitharan Pandurangan (Puducherry) and Peter Christopher (Maharashtra) have been inducted as assistant referees. Ashwin Kumar and Aditya Purkayastha, in addition to making the FIFA list, have also completed their AFC Referee Academy course in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rachana Kamani is currently undergoing the same course.
In total, 19 match officials from India are part of the FIFA list for 2026.
The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was conducted at the John F. Kennedy Center, setting the stage for the first 48-team edition of football’s biggest tournament. With an expanded group format and an unprecedented number of matches across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the draw delivered several headline-grabbing fixtures.
Morocco, the surprise package of the last World Cup, has been drawn with Brazil in Group C, alongside Scotland and Haiti, putting the latter two under significant pressure. England and Croatia have been paired in Group L, a combination of two sides widely considered capable of challenging for the title. For Ghana and Panama, advancing from this group will be a major challenge.
If Italy advances through the European play-offs, it will join Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland in Group B. Which teams progress from this group remains highly uncertain. In the tournament opener, Mexico will face South Africa on home soil. South Korea is also in Group A, along with the winner of the play-off between Denmark, North Macedonia, the Czech Republic, and Ireland.
Indians in the FIFA International List of Match Officials 2026
Referees: Venkatesh R., Harish Kundu, Senthil Nathan Sekaran, Crystal John, Ashwin Kumar, Aditya Purkayastha, Ranjita Devi Tekcham, Rachana Hasmukhbhai Kamani
Assistant referees: Vairamuthu Parasuraman, Sumanta Dutta, Arun Sasidharan Pillai, Ujjal Halder, Muralitharan Pandurangan, Dipesh Manohar Sawant, Sourav Sarkar, Christopher Peter, Riiohlang Dhar, Elangbam Debala Devi
Futsal referee: Vishal Mahendrabhai Vaja
–IANS
