The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) ranked Moroccan referee Bouchra Karboubi the fifth-best female referee in the world in its awards given on December 25.
The IFFHS ranked British referee Rebecca Welch first, followed by France’s Stephanie Frappart and Swedish Tess Olofsson in second and third.
Karboubi’s IFFHS ranking follows an award for Best African Female Referee conferred during the CAF Awards 2024 ceremony held on December 16 in Marrakech, recognizing her career achievements.
In the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in the Ivory Coast, Karboubi became the first Arab woman to officiate as the principal referee in a match. She also officiated at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Karboubi further became the first woman to referee a top-division match in Morocco’s Botola Pro D1 tournament and was selected to officiate over the final of the 2019-2020 Moroccan Throne Cup.
Earlier this year, she was honored with the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award as the “Best Arab Football Referee.”