Breaking Barriers
American Female Referees Set to Make Lasting World Cup Impact
For the first time, an all-female American crew has officiated a men's FIFA World Cup match. On June 18, 2026, referee Tori Penso and assistant referees Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt worked the Group A clash between Czechia and South Africa at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, ending 1-1 AJC.
The three women managed a physical, high-intensity match without a single major VAR-overturned decision, according to teleSUR. Their performance shifts the conversation from whether women can officiate the men's game to how they are shaping its future.
Three Americans Who Rewrote Officiating History
Tori Penso served as the head referee — the first American woman in that role at a men's World Cup. A former digital marketing professional from Florida, Penso said refereeing the men's tournament was her ultimate career goal. "I always knew my ultimate professional goal was to officiate at the FIFA Men's World Cup," she told AJC. "This is the dream I've been working toward."
Brooke Mayo, one of the assistant referees, became the first openly LGBTQIAPN+ official to work a men's World Cup. Mayo, a former collegiate player at Tennessee Tech, urged young officials not to set limits on themselves. "There is no limiting factor for you to achieve your dreams as long as you are willing to sacrifice," she said, according to US Soccer.
A Decade of Firsts Led to This Moment
The trio's road to this match was built on a string of milestones. In September 2020, Penso became the first woman to referee an MLS regular-season match in 20 years. Then in 2022, Kathryn Nesbitt was selected for the Qatar World Cup — part of the first group of women ever included in a men's tournament, according to Morning in America.
The three women first worked together as a full crew at the 2023 Women's World Cup Final in Sydney, where they officiated in front of 75,000 fans. In October 2025, they became the first all-female on-field crew for a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, per US Soccer. The 2026 men's World Cup was the next step — and the biggest one yet.
FIFA's Push to Put Performance Over Gender
FIFA's referees chief Pierluigi Collina has been direct about the selection criteria. "The best has to be the referee... they are not here because they are women, but because they are FIFA match officials," Collina has said. The United States sent a record eight officials to the 2026 tournament, the second-most of any nation, per LA Times.
The first all-female crew in a men's World Cup was actually at Qatar 2022, when Stéphanie Frappart of France led the Germany vs. Costa Rica match. This trio's appointment builds on that precedent. However, some international commentators have questioned whether the U.S.'s high official count reflects merit or standard host-nation advantage, according to Crypto Briefing.
What This Means for the Future of the Game
Nesbitt, an analytical chemist who left her lab career to referee full-time, captured the broader significance. "This was an impossible dream for me," she said. "Witnessing females at this event now makes this realistic for all women," she told The Washington Post. She is now a veteran of two men's World Cups.
Analysts say all-female crews at men's World Cups will become routine — not historic — in the years ahead. The Professional Referee Organization (PRO) in the U.S. has used the NWSL and MLS as training grounds for exactly this kind of promotion. Mayo's U.S. Soccer Female Referee of the Year award in 2025 was already a signal of what was coming, per Tennessee Tech.
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