From Bilbao to Qatar, Olatz Rivera’s rise through the European refereeing ranks is taking another international turn. FIFA has selected the Spanish official for the Women’s Under-17 World Cup, scheduled in Qatar from 19 November until 16 December, continuing a run of major appointments that has carried her into both elite women’s football and Spain’s men’s second tier.
Key takeaways
- Rivera is among 27 referees chosen across FIFA’s six confederations for the Women’s Under-17 World Cup in Qatar.
- Assistant referees Eliana Fernández González and Iragartze Fernández Esesúmaga will join her at the tournament.
- UEFA has supplied seven of the referees appointed for the finals.
- On 16 August, Rivera officiated her first match in Spain’s Segunda División, Las Palmas against Albacete Balompié.
- Rivera and Marta Huerta de Aza are members of UEFA’s Elite referee group.
A Spanish team bound for Qatar
The Qatar assignment arrives shortly after the Women’s Under-20 World Cup and gives Rivera another place on the global stage. Fernández González and Fernández Esesúmaga form the assistant-referee pair travelling with the Bilbao official, with Iragartze Fernández already having worked alongside her in Spain.
That partnership was visible when Rivera took charge of Las Palmas’ meeting with Albacete on 16 August. The match marked her debut as a referee in the men’s Segunda División, making her the latest woman to reach that level after Huerta de Aza, now in her third campaign in the division.
Rivera’s domestic ascent has been built over a longer spell. She first refereed in Spain’s top women’s division in 2017, and her recent appointments have placed her at the centre of some of the country’s biggest fixtures. Last season, she was entrusted with the Copa de la Reina final between Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, after also being selected for Barcelona’s league Clásico against Real Madrid at the end of March.
Growing international experience
The Qatar finals will not be Rivera’s first major youth tournament. In November last year, she was appointed to referee the Women’s Under-17 World Cup final between Korea and the Netherlands, a notable endorsement of her standing within the international game.
She had also made her European Championship debut during the previous summer. On 12 June 2025, Rivera officiated Poland’s Group C match against Denmark. Her tournament duties extended beyond the games she led: she served as fourth official for Switzerland against Iceland, a match refereed by Huerta de Aza, and had performed the same role two days earlier for Germany versus Poland under French referee Stéphanie Frappart.
For Rivera, the journey to Qatar is therefore another step rather than an isolated call-up: a Spanish referee increasingly trusted for finals, rivalries and international tournament football, now heading to the Gulf with an all-Spanish assistant team.
