Official Announcement! 47-year-old Ma Ning to Officiate Curacao vs Ecuador, First Time as World Cup Referee, Becomes Second Chinese to Achieve This

On June 17, Beijing time, FIFA officially announced that the 47-year-old CSL "Golden Whistle" Ma Ning will take charge of the Chinese Super League will officiate as the head referee in the second round of the group stage match between Curacao and Ecuador. This is also his debut as a main referee on the World Cup stage. Chinese official Zhou Fei will also join as an assistant referee for this game.

Ma Ning thus becomes the second Chinese second referee to serve as a World Cup head referee. The first was Lu Jun, who officiated two group stage matches during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, namely Croatia vs Mexico and USA vs Poland.

Born on June 14, 1979, in Liaoning, Ma Ning celebrated his 47th birthday around the time of the World Cup period. Among the 52 referees at the USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup, he ranks as the third oldest, behind 48-year-old Alireza Faghani and 47-year-old Anthony Taylor.

In 2022, Ma Ning led a team of Chinese officials as a substitute referee for the Qatar World Cup. He served as the fourth official in six matches. Unfortunately, he never got the opportunity to act as the main referee in that tournament.

After the World Cup, Ma Ning was highly trusted by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), officiating the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2022 AFC Champions League final. In 2024, he went on to referee the AFC Asian Cup final, marking the first time a Chinese official had ever presided over an Asian Cup final.

In 2025, during the first edition of the revamped "new" FIFA Club World Cup, Ma Ning continued to serve as a substitute official, acting as the fourth official in six group stage matches.

In the earlier qualifiers for the USA-Can-Mexico World Cup, Ma Ning remained the top choice for key high-stakes matches. He officiated a total of 8 games in total, including two in the second round and five in the third round, as well as the crucial fourth-round match where Iraq beat Indonesia 1-0.

With a series of outstanding performances, Ma Ning earned full recognition from FIFA, which led to his selection for the refereeing roster of this World Cup, making his debut as a "head referee" on the World Cup stage for the first time.