Tekcham Ranjita, Elangbam Debala among FIFA List of Match Officials 2026

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jan 2 : Two match officials from Manipur have made it to the prestigious  Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) List of Match Officials 2026 marking a significant for the State and country’s football fraternity.
Referee Tekcham Ranjita and Assistant Referee Elangbam Debala were the two State match officials among 19 Indian making it to the list of referees, who will be conducting International matches for the year 2026.
Notably, Venkatesh R, Harish Kundu, Senthil Nathan Sekaran, Crystal John, Ashwin Kumar, Aditya Purkayastha, Ranjita Devi Tekcham, Rachana Hasmukhbhai Kamani are the Indian referees in the  FIFA International List of Match Officials 2026. The Assistant Referees who were listed for the same include Vairamuthu Parasuraman, Sumanta Dutta, Arun Sasidharan Pillai, Ujjal Halder, Muralitharan Pandurangan, Dipesh Manohar Sawant, Sourav Sarkar, Christopher Peter, Riiohlang Dhar, Elangbam Debala Devi.
Meanwhile, Vishal Mahendrabhai Vaja is the lone Futsal Referee to be named by FIFA among the 19 officials from India.
Notably, Ranjita hails from Khongjam Bazar. She began her football journey as a player before turning to refereeing in 2007.
After officiating many high level district, State level and zonal competitions, she received National Referee Grade II Certificate in 2016 before receiving the FIFA Referee Badge in 2018.
The 40 years old Ranjita, born to Tekcham Ningthourel, have since officiated in AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 held in India, the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou (2023), the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament held in Australia, the SEA Games held in Cambodia, and AFC U-20 Women’s Qualifiers held in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Elangbam Debala is the daughter of Elangbam Mohon and Elangbam Sanajaobi of Heirok Part II Mayai Leikai, Thoubal district.
Born in 1997, Debala is a former National player who began her refereeing career in 2016.
Debala who holds a Master’s Degree in Physical Education and Sports became a National Referee in 2021 and received FIFA Badge for Assistant Referee in 2025.
The All Manipur Football Association in a memorandum extended heartiest congratulations to the State duo on their achievement.