KANSAS CITY, United States, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Ma Ning will become the first Chinese in 24 years to officiate a World Cup match as head referee when he takes charge of Ecuador's Group E match against Curacao on June 20 in Kansas City.

Photo: CFP

Ma's compatriot, Zhou Fei, will serve as an assistant referee for the second-round group-stage encounter, FIFA announced on Wednesday.

The appointment will mark the first time the 47-year-old Ma has officiated a World Cup match as the lead referee and the first time since 2002 that a Chinese official has been assigned to referee a match at football's showpiece tournament.

Three Chinese officials were selected for the 2026 World Cup refereeing team: Ma as a referee, Zhou as an assistant referee and Fu Ming as a video assistant referee.

Fu has already appeared in two matches as an assistant video assistant referee, meaning all three Chinese officials will have made appearances at this year's tournament.

In recent years, Ma and his colleagues have officiated at several major international competitions. Ma was selected for the referee team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he served as a fourth official.

Ma and Fu also officiated at the inaugural expanded FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. In addition, the Chinese quartet of Ma, Fu, Zhou and Zhang Cheng oversaw the 2023 AFC Asian Cup final, played in Qatar in early 2024, marking the first time Chinese referees had officiated the final of the continental tournament.

Before departing for the World Cup, Ma said the Chinese officials were determined to prove themselves on football's biggest stage.

"During the World Cup, we will learn from the world's best referees and bring valuable experience back to China to contribute to the training and development of Chinese referees," he said.

"We will also do our utmost to showcase the professionalism and spirit of Chinese referees on the World Cup stage."