MIAMI, Florida – History was made earlier this month as referees Tori Penso (United States) and Francia Gonzalez (Mexico) became the first women in Concacaf history to whistle a Senior Men’s World Cup Qualification match.
Penso’s historic moment came on Wednesday, June 2 in the First Round of WCQ in Group F between Puerto Rico and Bahamas at the Mayaguez Athletics Stadium in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
Two days later on Friday, June 4, Gonzalez served as the Center Referee in the Group A WCQ between Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua.
Over the course of the June Concacaf WCQs, covering both the First and Second Rounds, women referees received 26 different appointments, including Penso and Gonzalez’s historic appointments, plus 12 as Assistant Referees, seven as Fourth Officials and five as Assessors.
Eleven different countries were represented among the appointees: U.S., Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Guyana, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
