On June 18, 2026, three American women walked onto the pitch in Atlanta and quietly rewrote the history of the world’s most-watched sporting event.
Tori Penso served as referee, with Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt as assistant referees, forming the first all-American, all-women officiating crew ever assigned to a men’s FIFA World Cup match.
The game itself was a Group A contest between Czech Republic and South Africa.
Penso, Mayo, and Nesbitt previously officiated the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final together. Penso became only the second woman in history to referee a men’s World Cup match. She’s also the first American woman to do so.
They added another milestone in 2025 by becoming the first all-female crew to officiate the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.
Now, their appointment at FIFA World Cup 2026 adds another chapter to that journey, highlighting the growing role of women in elite football officiating and showcasing how the sport continues to evolve on its biggest stage.
FIFA appointed a record eight US Soccer referees for the 2026 World Cup, the second-most of any nation. The all-women configuration was a deliberate choice, not a mathematical inevitability.
The long road to the men’s game
The men’s World Cup has been played since 1930. It took 92 years before a woman refereed a match at the tournament. Penso is only the second to do it.
What made the 2023 Women’s World Cup final so important in retrospect is that it gave FIFA a data point. An all-American, all-women crew could handle the pressure of a final on the global stage. The 2026 assignment was, in some sense, a logical extension of that track record.
Leading the historic crew was Tori Penso, whose journey into officiating began as a teenager in Florida.
Her breakthrough came in 2020 when she became the first woman in nearly two decades to referee a Major League Soccer match. After receiving her FIFA badge in 2021, Penso was selected for some of football’s biggest events, including the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final and the Paris Olympic Games.
By officiating Czechia’s clash against South Africa, she became the first American woman to referee a men’s FIFA World Cup match.
Assistant referee Kathryn Nesbitt brings one of the most unique stories in international football.
Before becoming a full-time official, Nesbitt built an academic career in science. She earned a doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and worked in research and teaching, focusing on neurological and brain-related studies.
Her passion for officiating eventually led her away from academia and into professional football.
Since earning FIFA accreditation in 2016, Nesbitt has officiated at multiple Women’s World Cups and Olympic tournaments. She also made history in Qatar four years ago when she became the first woman to serve as an assistant referee in a men’s World Cup knockout-stage match during England’s Round of 16 encounter against Senegal.
Brooke Mayo: Breaking Barriers Beyond Football
Completing the trio was Brooke Mayo, whose football journey has included playing, coaching and officiating.
The Texas native played collegiate football before working as a physical education teacher and high-school coach. She later transitioned fully into refereeing and quickly established herself among the top officials in the United States.
Mayo joined FIFA’s international refereeing panel in 2018 and has since worked at major tournaments, including the Women’s World Cup, Olympic Games and FIFA Club World Cup.
Her achievements were recognised in 2025 when she received U.S. Soccer’s Female Referee of the Year award.
Mayo’s appointment in Atlanta also carried broader significance. She became the first openly gay match official to officiate a men’s FIFA World Cup fixture, representing an important milestone for LGBTQ+ visibility in international football.
