Yoshimi Yamashita Becomes First Female Referee In AFC Asian Cup History

Yoshimi Yamashita has the trust to be the main referee in the 2023 Asian Cup.

JAKARTA - The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed that Japan's Yoshimi Yamashita will lead the 2023 AFC Asian Cup match. He will be the judge in the Australian vs India match, January 13, 2024.

This appearance is so important because it makes Yamashita the first woman to become the main referee in the history of the Asian Cup.

In addition, this determination is also the latest achievement for Yamashita, which is one of the five pioneering women's match officials involved in the 18th edition of the Asian Cup match in Qatar.

In the Group B match at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, he will be supported by assistant referees Makoto Bozono and Naomi Teshirogi. This Japanese trio made history as the first female official to oversee the matches in the AFC Cup (2019), the Asian Champions League (2022), and the Japanese Premier League or J1 (2023).

Japan's first professional female referee, Yoshimi Yamashita, won the FIFA badge in 2015 and has since continued to break through various obstacles.

This native of Tokyo is the first woman to manage the J1 match in September 2022. She is also one of six female match officials appointed for Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The appointment of female match officials at the World Cup is the first time in the history of the world's biggest football tournament.

Yamashita was the main referee in the opening match of the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia-New Zealand. She then led two more games and served as the fourth official for the next two matches.

The main appearance as a major justice in Australia-New Zealand was his second World Cup, after his 2019 debut in France.

Starting his journey as a referee with the support of fellow alumni of the University of Tokyo Ggaugei, Bozono, Yamashita also has experience in the AFC Women's Asian Cup (2018 and 2022) and the Olympics (2020). The match between Australia vs India is the second match in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qatar. The match starts at 14.30 local time or 18.30 WIB.