Akil Howson will become the first black official to take part in an FA Cup final when Chelsea face Manchester City in May 2026.
Akil Howson is poised to break new ground as he prepares to step onto the field for the FA Cup final on 16 May 2026. He has been selected as one of the assistant referees for the highly anticipated clash between Chelsea and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
Darren England has been named as the head referee for the upcoming FA Cup final, a role he will take on for the very first time. This comes after he previously served as the fourth official in the 2025 final and acted as an assistant referee back in 2015.
The 40-year-old, included on Fifa's international referees list in 2022, now earns the opportunity to oversee one of English football's most prestigious events.
Tim Wood will join Howson as the second assistant referee while Sam Barrott takes on the responsibility of fourth official. The video assistant referee (VAR) duties will be managed by Peter Bankes, with Nick Hopton serving as his assistant.
Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) are actively working to broaden access to refereeing pathways. In recent times, Farai Hallam, Ruebyn Ricardo, and Sam Allison have begun officiating in the top two tiers of men's football.
Additionally, Paul Howard has successfully integrated into the Premier League VAR system following an enhanced training program.
Darren England's road to the FA Cup final has been shaped by a significant professional challenge he faced in September 2023. While acting as the VAR during Tottenham's match against Liverpool, he misjudged an offside decision that led to a Luis Diaz goal being incorrectly disallowed.
The Sheffield & Hallamshire official was temporarily removed from Premier League duties for nearly three months as part of his recovery process. He was gradually reintroduced to top-flight refereeing before resuming his upward trajectory.