Tori Penso Makes History: The First American Woman To Referee A Men FIFA World Cup Match
She started refereeing at 14 to make extra money. On Thursday in Atlanta, Tori Penso became the second woman ever to referee a men's World Cup match, leading the first all-American, all-female crew the tournament has seen.
Tori Penso walked out of the tunnel in Atlanta on Thursday to referee the Group A match between Czechia and South Africa, and the moment carried weight well beyond the 1-1 draw that followed. She became only the second woman in history to take charge of a men's FIFA World Cup match, following France's Stephanie Frappart at Qatar 2022. Alongside assistant referees Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt, she led the first all-American, all-female officiating crew ever assembled at the tournament, and only the second all-female on-field trio to officiate a men's World Cup game in the competition's history.
Who Tori Penso Is
Penso was born in Stuart, Florida, and is now 39 years old. She picked up refereeing at 14 as a way to earn extra money and started taking it seriously at 18 after attending an Olympic Development Program refereeing camp in Alabama. She studied advertising in college and worked in the field for a period, balancing it with officiating before eventually leaving her advertising job to referee full-time.
Her breakthrough came in September 2020, when she became the first woman in nearly two decades to referee a Major League Soccer match. She received her FIFA badge in 2021 and was selected for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final between Spain and England, becoming the first American referee to oversee that match. She also officiated at the Paris Olympic Games and has been part of the FIFA international referee panel since 2021.
The Historic Crew in Atlanta
Penso's trio with Mayo and Nesbitt was not their first time making history together. The three had previously served as the first all-female on-field officiating crew at a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final, working the match between Austin FC and champions Nashville SC on October 1, 2025. Of the 170 total match officials FIFA appointed for the 2026 World Cup, only six are women: two referees, three assistant referees, and one VAR official.
Penso described the emotional weight of the role in an interview with US Soccer. "Whenever I have a big match, I normally have to fight back my tears at some point during the walkout. How lucky am I to get to live my dreams with my family and friends cheering me on?"
The match itself produced three yellow cards and a hard-fought draw. The history made before kickoff outlasted the final score.