Tori Penso, Brooke Mayo, Kathryn Nesbitt make history as first all-American, all-women officiating crew at World Cup

Three American women walked onto the pitch at Atlanta Stadium on June 18 and did something no all-American, all-women crew had ever done before: officiate a men’s FIFA World Cup match.

Tori Penso served as center referee while Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt worked as assistant referees for the Group A match between Czechia and South Africa, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

A first for American women, a second for the World Cup

This was the first time an all-American, all-women officiating crew has taken charge of a men’s World Cup match. It was also only the second time in the tournament’s 96-year history that an all-women crew officiated any men’s World Cup game, period.

Penso, 39, became the first American woman to serve as the center referee for a men’s World Cup match.

The three officials are no strangers to high-stakes matches together. Penso, Mayo, and Nesbitt previously worked as a crew at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Penso also refereed the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, which means she’s now officiated marquee matches on both sides of the gender divide in international soccer.

The long road to this moment

What makes this particular milestone notable isn’t just the gender component. It’s the nationality. Having all three officials come from the same country is relatively uncommon at the World Cup regardless of gender. FIFA typically mixes officials from different confederations to minimize perceptions of bias. The fact that the governing body assigned an all-American crew to a match between two non-American teams suggests a high degree of confidence in this particular trio.

The match took place in Atlanta, one of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup being held across the US, Mexico, and Canada.

What this means beyond the pitch

Sports officiating is one of those professions where excellence is defined by invisibility. By that measure, a 1-1 draw with no major controversies suggests Penso, Mayo, and Nesbitt did their jobs exactly as well as anyone could ask.

From Penso’s 2023 Women’s World Cup final to the 2024 Paris Olympics to a men’s World Cup match in 2026, this crew has been climbing the ladder of international officiating at a pace that suggests FIFA sees them as more than a symbolic gesture.

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