Tori Penso will make history on Thursday at 19:00, when she becomes only the second woman ever to referee a men’s World Cup match. The 39-year-old American will officiate Czech Republic vs. South Africa in Group A in Atlanta, following France’s Stéphanie Frappart, who refereed Germany vs. Costa Rica at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Penso will be joined on the lines by fellow Americans Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt. She previously refereed the 2023 Women’s World Cup final in Sydney, where Spain beat England 1-0, and earlier this year was part of FIFA’s preparations for the tournament.
In an interview with FIFA, Penso said she began officiating boys’ and girls’ matches unofficially at age 14 to earn money for expenses. She later studied advertising, stayed involved in football, and eventually left her advertising job when refereeing, which first seemed like a side job, became her true calling.
A mother of three, with her eldest daughter 12, Penso is regarded as a trailblazer for women’s refereeing in the United States. In September 2020, she became the first woman in more than 20 years to officiate an MLS match, according to FIFA. She joined FIFA’s international refereeing list in 2021, and that same year became the first woman to lead an all-female officiating crew in a men’s Concacaf competition, when she worked a World Cup qualifier. In 2022, she also officiated five matches at the Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Costa Rica, including one semifinal.
FIFA selected six women for the officiating teams at the 2026 World Cup. Alongside Penso, Mexican referee Katia Itzel Garcia was also chosen as a center referee and is still awaiting her debut assignment. Before the tournament, Penso posted a photo with her daughters and wrote that they were her inspiration, saying, “It is time to show them and the whole world what can be achieved when you dare to dream big.”
