BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Next month’s Copa America will be the first edition of the continental men’s football tournament to have female referees, South America’s soccer governing body (CONMEBOL) said.
Copa America, which runs from June 20 to July 14 hosted by the United States, will have a total of 101 match officials, including eight women.
Edina Alves of Brazil and Maria Victoria Penso of the United States will be referees in the tournament. They will be supported by Tatiana Guzman of Nicaragua, a VAR official.
Brazilian Neuza Back, Mary Blanco of Colombia, Migdalia Rodriguez of Venezuela, and Americans Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt will join as assistants.
“This is a significant commitment undertaken by CONMEBOL since 2016,” the South American soccer body said in a statement.
“Aiming at the development and professionalisation of more women on and off the field, promoting gender equality in various tournaments,” the statement added according to Reuters.
In 2021, Alves became the first woman to referee a senior men’s FIFA tournament at the Club World Cup. Back and Nesbitt officiated matches in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Penso, Mayo, and Nesbitt have also been selected as match officials at the 2024 Olympic football tournament in France.
A total of 101 match officials will work at the Copa America hosted by the United States from June 20.
As part of a CONMEBOL-UEFA agreement, Italian referee Maurizio Mariani and his compatriots Daniele Brindoni and Alberto Tegoni (assistants) and Marco Di Bello and Alejandro Di Paolo (VAR) will also work the South American championship.
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