CHICAGO (April 3, 2024) - U.S. Soccer and FIFA Referee Tori Penso, and Assistant Referees Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt have been appointed as match officials for the Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 to be held across France this summer. The trio made history last summer when they were selected to officiate the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final between Spain and England, becoming the first U.S. Soccer referees to lead the officiating crew in a senior World Cup Final. All three referees will work the Olympic Football Tournament for the first time.
In total, FIFA selected 89 officials from all six confederations to work matches at the women’s and men’s Olympic Football Tournaments. Penso is one of 21 Referees chosen, while Mayo and Nesbitt are two of the 42 Assistant Referees selected. Additionally, 20 Video Assistant Referees and six Support Referees were chosen for the tournaments. The men’s competition kicks off on July 24 and the women’s tournament begins on July 25, and both Gold Medal matches will be played at the Parc des Princes in Paris, with the men’s final on August 9 and women’s final on August 10.
The selected officials are three of the 41 U.S. Soccer referees that are part of the 2024 FIFA Panel, the world’s highest level of officiating. Selection grants the 41 officials the opportunity to referee at the highest levels of international soccer.
Since working the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, the trio has also officiated the opening and Third Place matches at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Third Place Match at the 2024 Concacaf Nations League.
Penso earned appointment to the FIFA Panel in 2021 and made her world championship debut at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. She also refereed that year’s Concacaf W Championship and Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, which were her first major international events. Domestically, Penso was the referee for the 2021 NWSL Championship.
Mayo made her World Cup debut in Australia and New Zealand last summer after earning a spot on the FIFA Panel in 2018. The Tennessee native worked her first world championship events at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. She also ran the sideline at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship and the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship after officiating the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship.
Appointed to the FIFA Panel in 2016, Nesbitt was one of six women selected to officiate the Men’s World Cup for the first time at Qatar 2022, where she was part of the historic Costa Rica-Germany match that featured an all-women crew for the first time in tournament history. Nesbitt has officiated at the 2019 and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cups, the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifiers, as well as the 2021 Men’s Concacaf Gold Cup. Domestically, she was voted 2020 MLS Assistant Referee of the Year and worked that season’s MLS Cup Final.
Referees from Canada, Honduras, and Mexico, will also represent Concacaf at the Olympics. FIFA appoints its best match officials from around the world for FIFA competitions.
Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer has been the official governing body of the sport in the United States for more than 100 years. As U.S. Soccer looks toward the future amid an unprecedented moment of opportunity, it has aligned its efforts around five strategic pillars: Grow the game by increasing youth and adult participation and accessibility to the sport; Foster best playing environments through quality of referees and coaches, and commitment to participant safety; Develop winning teams through solidified pathways and success of professional leagues; Grow the soccer economy to fuel reinvestment by increasing membership, fandom and commercial success; and Create a world-class organization through revitalized structure and culture, best-in-class talent, progress in DEIB, and more. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision.
