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Katia Itzel García stepped onto the pitch in Kansas City on June 25 and did something no Mexican woman has ever done. She refereed a FIFA World Cup match.
The 33-year-old from Mexico City was appointed as the central referee for the group stage clash between Tunisia and the Netherlands, making her part of an extraordinarily small club of female officials who have taken charge of men’s World Cup games. Before her, only France’s Stéphanie Frappart and the United States’ Tori Penso had crossed that particular barrier.
A career built on firsts
García’s path to this moment reads like a highlight reel of glass ceilings shattered. She began her professional refereeing career in 2017 and earned her FIFA international badge just two years later, in 2019.
In March 2024, she became the first female referee to officiate a Liga MX match in over two decades, taking charge of Pachuca vs. Querétaro on March 9. She was also the first woman to officiate matches in Liga de Expansión MX, Mexico’s second division.
Her international résumé had already been building momentum before Kansas City. She officiated at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and was involved in the 2024 Olympics.
This wasn’t her first involvement in the 2026 World Cup, either. García served as the fourth official for the Netherlands vs. Japan match on June 14, eleven days before her historic central referee appointment.
More than a referee
García holds a degree in Political Science from UNAM, the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Born on September 1, 1992, García is still relatively young by refereeing standards.
Her appointment also reflects FIFA’s broader institutional push toward gender parity in officiating. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was the first men’s tournament to include female referees, with Frappart making history as the central referee for Costa Rica vs. Germany.
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