Overcoming obstacles: Tori Penso’s historic World Cup moment

Sports Desk

When Tori Penso raised the whistle to his lips to blow the opening whistle of the Group A match between the Czech Republic and South Africa at Atlanta Stadium on Thursday, he wasn’t just starting another football match.

This 39-year-old American was making football history.

Along with assistant referees Brooke Mayo and Catherine Nesbitt, Penso became only the second female referee to officiate a men’s FIFA World Cup match. The arrangement also marked the second time an all-female refereeing team had taken charge of a men’s World Cup match, the first being achieved by French referee Stephanie Frappert and her team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

But for Penso, this moment was the culmination of a journey that began not in the bright lights of a packed stadium, but on a simple local field in Florida.

Born in Stuart, Florida, Penso’s first connection to football came through his two older brothers. Like many other children, he initially dreamed of playing the game himself. But fate had other plans.

At the age of 14, eager to earn some pocket money, he followed his mother’s advice and began refereeing youth matches in 1999. This proved to be a decision that would shape the rest of his life.

That same year, the United States hosted and won the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a tournament remembered for Brandi Chastain’s historic winning penalty kick against China in the final. For the teenage Penso, watching Chastain’s celebration was a turning point.

“That was the first time I saw a woman as an athlete. It was inspiring and it changed my whole perspective,” Penso later recalled in an interview with FIFA.

What started as a weekend job quickly became a passion. Refereeing gave him the independence and confidence that allowed him to earn enough money to buy his first car, as well as gain some skills that would prove invaluable later in life.

“Making quick decisions with limited information, having the courage to go out on the field, often in front of screaming parents — it gave me a lot of skills that I’ve used later in my career,” he told Fox Sports.

Despite his growing love of officiating, Penso did not initially see refereeing as a full-time career. He continued to officiate while also working in the marketing department of an advertising agency.

“There weren’t any full-time female referees in the United States, so I didn’t really see it as a career,” she told FIFA in 2023.

But opportunities gradually came his way. With the support of his family, Penso decided to pursue refereeing as a career and soon began to rise through the ranks of American football.

An invitation to attend a refereeing camp in Texas organized by the Olympic Development Program further accelerated her progress. Around the same time, she married Chris Penso, an MLS referee and later a FIFA Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Together they raised a family and shared a profession that often became the main topic of conversation in their home.

Penso once said, ‘I have healthy discussions with Chris about refereeing, and it helps me see things from a different perspective when officiating matches.’

It didn’t take long for history to be made.

In 2020, she became the first woman to referee a Major League Soccer match in two decades, when she officiated a match between Nashville SC and D.C. United. A year later, she was inducted into FIFA’s roster of international referees and continued to break barriers.

Her rise reached another milestone in 2023 when she became the first female referee to officiate the FIFA Women’s World Cup final, a match between Spain and England in Sydney.

This appointment remains one of the most emotional moments of his career.

Penso recalls, ‘When Pierluigi Collina turned the jersey over and I saw my name, I melted. Nothing could be better than the moment I’m having now.’

Since then, his resume has continued to grow. He has refereed the Paris Olympics, the FIFA Club World Cup and dozens of Major League Soccer matches, establishing him as one of the sport’s most respected officials.

Yet behind this success lies a strong family bond.

Penso often carries a photo of her husband and three daughters with her before each match, and she says their support has been crucial to her success.

During a ‘She-Believes Cup’ event, his daughters were asked to complete a sentence: ‘I believe that…’

One wrote that he would become a professional footballer. Another said he would never stop playing football. But the little girl had a different wish.

He wanted to be a referee.

For Penso, who once stood at the local field just hoping to earn a few extra dollars, it was perhaps the biggest reminder of how far the game has come.

And when he stepped onto the field at Atlanta Stadium on Thursday, whistle in hand and history waiting ahead, he set another powerful example of what is possible for the next generation watching from the gallery.

Because sometimes, the journey to the world’s biggest stage begins with a teenager officiating a match at her local stadium and a dream that even she herself didn’t know existed.