Women officials gain ground at World Cup

Miami, United States: Tori Penso has refereed a Women's World Cup final, worked in Major League Soccer, and now taken charge of a match at the men's World Cup.

The American is one of six women officiating at the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States, where female officials are taking on increasingly prominent roles after years of work in domestic leagues and international competitions.

Alongside Mexico's Katia Itzel Garcia, Karen Diaz Medina and Sandra Ramirez, and fellow Americans Kathryn Nesbitt and Brooke Mayo, Penso is part of a group whose careers reflect the growing opportunities available to women in football officiating.

Their appointments followed a selection process that FIFA said lasted more than three years, with candidates assessed through international tournaments, domestic competitions, fitness tests and technical evaluations.

"The selected match officials are the very best in the world," FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina said when the list was announced in April.

For Penso, the World Cup is the latest step in a career that has steadily moved through the sport's biggest competitions.

The 39-year-old became the first woman in more than two decades to referee a Major League Soccer match when she took charge of Nashville SC against D.C.

United in 2020. Three years later, she officiated the Women's World Cup final between Spain and England in Sydney.

At this tournament, she was appointed to referee Czechia's Group A match against South Africa.

Working alongside assistant referees Nesbitt and Mayo, Penso became part of the first all-female on-field officiating team at the 2026 World Cup.

The trio's partnership has developed over several years.

Nesbitt and Mayo also worked alongside Penso during the Women's World Cup final in Australia, giving them experience of some of football's most demanding occasions.

Nesbitt's path to the top level has been an unusual one.

Before becoming a full-time official, she worked in analytical chemistry while pursuing a refereeing career that would eventually take her to multiple FIFA tournaments.

Mayo has also established herself as one of the leading assistant referees in the United States.

Mexico's Garcia has followed a similarly impressive rise.

The 33-year-old became the first Mexican woman appointed as a referee at a men's World Cup after working domestic Liga MX matches, the Olympic Games and competitions organized by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.

Her selection has attracted considerable attention in Mexico, where football remains the country's most popular sport and one of the main attractions of this year's tournament.

Garcia's appointment is also significant because she is one of only two women selected among FIFA's 52 referees for the competition. The other is Penso.

Mexico is also represented by assistant referees Diaz Medina and Ramirez.

Diaz Medina was part of the breakthrough group selected for Qatar 2022, the first men's World Cup to feature female officials, and returned for a second tournament after continuing to work international and domestic matches.

Ramirez earned her place after years of assignments in Mexican football and regional competitions.

While players and coaches attract most of the headlines during a World Cup, officials spend years preparing for the event.

FIFA's selection process is designed to identify those capable of handling matches played in front of packed stadiums and watched by global television audiences.

For the six women working at this tournament, reaching the World Cup is both a professional achievement and a reflection of broader changes in the game.

Across domestic leagues, continental championships and FIFA competitions, female officials are taking on increasingly prominent roles and becoming more visible at the highest levels of men's football.

At the 2026 World Cup, that progress is unfolding on football's biggest stage.