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Yoshimi Yamashita became Japan’s first woman professional football referee on Monday and said she was happy to “make a splash” as she prepares to create history at the World Cup.
Yamashita, 36, was named in May alongside France’s Stephanie Frappart and Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga as officials for Qatar later this year — the first women to referee at a men’s World Cup.
Yamashita has now signed a professional contract with the Japan Football Association and spent her first day on the job giving a talk to school children.
Her new role comes less than a year after Japan launched its first professional women’s football league, the WE League.
