Tori Penso Biography – Tori Penso Wiki

Tori Penso, an accomplished American soccer referee, embarked on her officiating journey at the tender age of 14. Since 2013, she has held a prestigious position as a FIFA referee, overseeing matches in both Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Hailing from Florida, Penso was part of the U.S. refereeing team at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, and she is poised to officiate at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Referee Career Beginnings

Penso’s passion for soccer began at age 10 when her mother first allowed her to play. Her family played a significant role in her early involvement in refereeing. “My brothers used to referee in local leagues in Stuart, Florida, where I grew up,” she shared with FIFA.com. At 14, eager to earn her own money, her mother encouraged her to referee, saying, “You can do it on the pitches where you spend so much time already.” This led her to officiate both boys’ and girls’ games for pay.

By 18, Penso had saved enough from her refereeing work to purchase her first car. Her talent caught attention, earning her a spot at a refereeing camp hosted by the Olympic Development Program in Texas. While she continued playing soccer and pursued a marketing degree, she didn’t initially view refereeing as a career path. However, after meeting her future husband, fellow referee Chris Penso, and starting a family with three daughters, she decided to leave her advertising job to focus on refereeing.

Trailblazer

Penso’s decision to pursue refereeing full-time in 2019 marked a turning point, as she began achieving significant milestones. In September 2020, she became the first woman in over two decades to officiate an MLS match. Her trailblazing journey continued in 2021 when she became the first woman to referee and lead an all-female officiating team in a Concacaf men’s competition. That June, she also became the first woman to officiate a FIFA World Cup qualifying match.

In 2022, Penso officiated five matches at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, including a semi-final. She then went on to referee at the FIFA World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023. Notably, she officiated the final between Spain and England in Sydney on August 20, 2023.

Penso’s expertise was further recognized at the 2024 Olympics in France, and in 2025, she was among 35 referees selected for the FIFA Club World Cup. She is set to make history as the first American woman to officiate a men’s World Cup match at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

FIFA World Cup 2026

Florida native Tori Penso is set to become the first American woman to be the head referee in a men’s World Cup match at the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026. While Penso will be the first American woman to work as the head referee on a men’s World Cup game, Kathryn Nesbitt was the first to work a men’s World Cup match in an official capacity, serving as an assistant referee in Qatar in 2022. Nesbitt will also be an assistant referee in this World Cup. In 2022, France’s Stéphanie Frappart became the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match.

The FIFA Team One cohort includes 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 Member Associations, in what is the most comprehensive line-up of match officials in FIFA World Cup™ history. The appointments were made on the basis of FIFA’s long-standing “quality first” principle, while consideration was given to the consistency of the performances delivered by candidates at FIFA tournaments, as well as in international and domestic competitions in recent years.

Tori Penso Age

She was born Mary Victoria Hancock on July 8, 1986, in Stuart, Florida, United States. She is 39 years old.

Tori Penso Husband

Referee Tori Penso is married to her husband, Chris Penso, also a professional referee. He has worked professional matches since 2009 in the Major League Soccer (MLS) and various international competitions. The couple met at Florida State University.

Tori Penso Family

FIFA referee Tori Penso and her husband, Chris Penso, have three daughters.

Salary

At the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the tournament’s managerial body set a $70,000 basic pay for match referees. A match referee is paid $3,000 for the group stage and $10,000 for the playoffs or final, as per the publication as. A referee who officiates all competitions, including the final, can earn up to $300,000.

Tori Penso Height

US referee Tori Penso is 6-foot-tall.