Tori Penso has spoken about the intense work and preparation which has gone into her selection as one of the match officials for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and said it was an "incredible honour" to be named for the inaugural edition of the 32-team competition.

"We work very hard every single day for opportunities like this one," said the Florida native, who took charge of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ final between Spain and England. "We work on both our sprint and agility with a sprint coach. We work with our sports nutritionists; we work with a sports psychologist and sports scientist on our physical preparation to make sure that we’re ready and can level up our game.

"To me, among these match officials selected for the FIFA Club World Cup, this is an elite group, this is the best of the best in the world. And to have my name alongside my colleagues, it’s an incredible honour, something I’m very proud of," she added. "It’s testament to the work and the quality that we’ve put in week in and week out on the pitch. "We are very focused right now on what our preparation looks like, to make sure that we’re ready for kick-off for the FIFA Club World Cup this summer."

A total of 117 match officials – 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials – from 41 Member Associations will take charge of the matches. The competition, the most inclusive global tournament ever played, will be played in 11 Host Cities across the United States from 14 June to 13 July.

The only female referee on the team, Ms Penso highlighted the work which has been done to ensure consistency at the tournament. FIFA has already held seminars in Zurich (for UEFA match officials), Buenos Aires (for Concacaf and CONMEBOL) and Doha (CAF, AFC and OFC).

"For FIFA, we also had our seminars (in) Buenos Aires, where we worked as a group. All of the candidates were able to attend, and we worked on the technical aspects of our game and the physical aspects, as well as the psychology around preparing for something of this magnitude," she said.

"We’ll have another seminar in advance of the FIFA Club World Cup to make sure that all of the officials are seeing the game in the same way, what is a foul and what isn’t a foul is consistent in the games, just to make sure the tournament is an incredible success."

She also spoke about the importance to the country of hosting the tournament. “(It) is such a great opportunity to bring the world’s best right here, to the United States,” she said.

“US fans are accustomed to seeing many of those teams come and play in friendlies and play in pre-season matches. But a competition of this magnitude, a truly global competition, will bring such a different experience to US fans like no friendly ever will. And I hope fans rise to the occasion and come join us for the FIFA Club World Cup.”