Mixed gender team of officials to take charge for both men and women’s opening day matches
Tori Penso, who will referee the opening women’s game between France and Colombia, took charge of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final in 2023
Match officials from all six confederations will be represented across the Olympic Football Tournament and the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024™
Match officials have been confirmed for the opening day matches of the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024, with mixed gender officiating teams working together at an Olympics at the same time.
A team led by Argentinian referee Yael Falcon will be assisted by his countrymen Maximillano del Yesso and Facundo Rodriguez will take charge of the opening game of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament between hosts France and USA at the Stade de Marseille on Wednesday 24 July. They are joined by female Uruguayan official Anahi Fernandez who will act as fourth official while Spanish official Carlos del Cerro Grande is the VAR and Mexico’s Guillermo Pacheco assistant VAR. American referee Tori Penso, who officiated the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final™ in 2023 where Spain beat England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, will oversee the opening game of the women’s tournament between France and Colombia in the Stade de Lyon on Thursday 25 July.
She will be joined by Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt, also from the USA, while Ugandan official Shamirah Nabadda will perform fourth official duties. Tatiana Guzman, the first woman to take charge of a men’s game in Nicaragua, is the VAR and Jamaica’s Daneon Parchment is VAR assistant. The FIFA Referees Committee has appointed 89 match officials (21 referees, 42 assistant referees, 20 video match officials and six support referees) from 45 countries to officiate matches at the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024. Female Japanese referee Yoshimi Yamashita, who has experience of officiating at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, will referee the men’s Egypt v Dominican Republic game on Wednesday 24 July at the Stade de la Beaujoire. Male Brazilian referee Ramon Abatti will take charge of the women’s game between USA and Zambia on Thursday July 25th at the Stade de Nice. While the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024 are this year’s flagship football competitions, for the selected match officials they represent the next important step on the road to the FIFA World Cup 26™ and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™. The complete list of match officials appointed for the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024 can be found here.