45-YEAR-OLD DREW FISCHER TO OFFICIATE CROATIA VS GHANA IN THE 2026 WORLD CUP

factsgh

Jun 25, 2026 - 06:26

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45-YEAR-OLD DREW FISCHER TO OFFICIATE CROATIA VS GHANA IN THE 2026 WORLD CUP

By: Isaac Amponsah (Dr Ike)

• FIFA appointment committee has selected Canadian Referee, Drew Fischer, to officiate Croatia and Ghana Round 3 fixture of Group L of the FIFA World Cup on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at the Philadelphia Stadium in the USA.

• Drew Fischer was born on July 10, 1980, in Calgary, Alberta, and he regularly officiates Major League Soccer games, was approved for international matches in the CONCACAF Confederation, and has been on the FIFA list of international referees since 2015.

• Referring career:

• As a teen in Calgary, Fischer began officiating to earn extra money. He has been a professional referee since 2007 and was accredited to first-division games in North America in 2012.

• Fischer has officiated several Canadian Championship matches and Major League Soccer matches since 2012.

• He officiated the finals of the Canadian Championship in 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2025.

• After being listed by FIFA in 2015, Fischer was appointed to referee the 2015 CONCACAF Men's U-17 Championship and the 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship.

• On June 23, 2017, it was announced that Fischer had been appointed to officiate in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

• He was one of the referees appointed during the inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League in 2019.

• He has officiated several high-profile tournaments and matches including: 2019 FIFA Men's U-17 World Cup in Brazil, 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France (VAR), 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, 2020 MLS Cup Final (VAR), 2021 CONCACAF Nations League final (VAR), 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in UAE, 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup Qualifiers, 2022 CONCACAF League Final (1st Leg), 2022 MLS Cup Final (VAR), and 2025 MLS Cup Final.

• On May 19, 2022, Fischer was announced as one of the 24 Video Match Officials appointed by FIFA for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

• Personal life:

• Fischer has a degree in physics from the University of Calgary.

• This fixture will be the first time a referee from Canada will officiate a Croatia game at the FIFA World Cup, but the fourth time a referee from the CONCACAF Confederation or North America has handled a Croatia game at the tournament since 1998.

• Croatia has won once out of their previous 4 games officiated by referees from the CONCACAF Confederation or North America at the FIFA World Cup (W1 D1 L2 GF2 GA3).

• 0-1 win over Japan in 1998.

• 1-0 lost to Ecuador in 2002.

• 1-0 lost to Brazil in 2006.

• 1-1 draw to Japan in 2022.

• This will be the first time a referee from Canada will officiate Ghana game at the FIFA World Cup but the third time a referee from CONCACAF Confederation or North America to handle Ghana game at the competition since 2006.

• Ghana will be chasing for their first win at the FIFA World Cup in a game in which a referee from the CONCACAF Confederation or North America has officiated (3-2 vs Portugal in 2022 - referee from the United States, and 0-0 vs England in 2026 - referee from Honduras)