Get to know the Moroccan match officials selected by FIFA for the 2026 World Cup

FIFA has appointed four Moroccan match officials for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

The list includes one Moroccan referee among 52, two assistant referees among 88, and one video match official among 30.

Jalal Jayed will become the third Moroccan central referee at a World Cup finals, after Said Belqola at France 1998 and Mohamed Guezzaz at South Korea/Japan 2002.

An international referee since 2019, Jayed began his career in 2006 out of curiosity before turning professional.

He then moved from regional and amateur leagues to the federal level in 2011, where he handled matches, including youth derbies between Raja and Wydad.

In 2015, he officiated his first Botola Pro match between Moghreb Tetouan and RS Berkane. After that, he became a regular referee in Morocco’s top two divisions.

On the international stage, he has officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2023 and 2025, as well as the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile.

Assistant referees Mostafa Akarkad and Zakaria Brinsi:

Mostafa Akarkad has been an international assistant referee since 2018, while Zakaria Brinsi has held the same status since 2019. Both were the only Moroccan assistant referees at the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.

Akarkad has officiated at the Arab regional level, including the 2023 King Salman Cup final between Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal and Al Nassr. He was also one of only two Moroccan assistant referees at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.

In 2025, Akarkad stepped onto the global stage as an assistant referee at the U-20 World Cup in Chile.

Zakaria Brinsi has also built strong experience at the African level.

He has been part of CAF competitions since 2022, including the CAF Confederation Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, where he worked in VAR for three matches, Cameroon vs Burkina Faso, Algeria vs Sierra Leone, and Equatorial Guinea vs Cote d’Ivoire, as well as serving as assistant referee for Ethiopia vs Cape Verde.

In 2023, he officiated as an assistant referee in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup and was selected for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina in 2025.

He has also taken part in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers as an assistant referee.

Video Match official Hamza El Fariq:

Hamza El Fariz has been an international video match official since 2023, representing Moroccan refereeing at the global level, including the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States as one of four Arab officials selected for the tournament.

At the continental level, he has been appointed to CAF competitions, including the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup in 2023, and was the only Moroccan VAR referee at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

In 2026, he was again appointed by CAF for the Confederation Cup.