Earlier this year, Fifa said the appointment of the female officials for the men’s World Cup, whose matches in Qatar have yet to be announced, concluded a “long process”.
“It is quality that counts for us and not gender,” continued Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of Fifa’s referees committee.
“I hope that in future, the selection of elite women’s match officials for important men’s competitions will be perceived as something normal.
“They deserve to be at the World Cup because they constantly perform at a really high level.”
Mukansanga will be joined in Qatar by France’s Frappart and Japan’s Yamashita, as well as assistant referees Neuza Back from Brazil, Karen Diaz Medina from Mexico and Kathryn Nesbitt from the United States.
“We are going to work together for the success of women,” Mukansanga said.
“If a woman is supporting another woman, of course you are going to see fruits.
“There are barriers, obstacles and challenges. There is nothing to do about them than for us to fight with a strong mentality, commitment and full engagement – then we will overcome.”
Mukansanga knows there will be extra scrutiny on her given the attention on football’s biggest tournament.
“People will never always be happy with you. So it’s up to you to do what you have to do – stay in the lines, don’t go out of the interpretation of the Laws of the Game and what the game demands.
“And then, at the end of the day, people will say: ‘Yes, she was right’.”
