CHICAGO (Dec. 16, 2024) – As part of U.S. Soccer’s strategic vision to foster best playing environments, the Federation’s Referee Program, in conjunction with U.S. Soccer’s Referee Committee and FIFA, has appointed a record 42 U.S. Soccer match officials to the 2025 FIFA International Panel. In total, the 42 individuals represent 48 FIFA badges across the Referee, Assistant Referee, Video Match Official and Futsal Referee disciplines.
“This is one of the USA’s strongest international referee contingents ever,” said Kari Seitz, U.S. Soccer’s Vice President of Refereeing. “Not only do we have match officials who represented the USA in the Final matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but in2024 we had USA referees selected for every FIFA Competition: the Paris Olympic Games, FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the FIFA Futsal World Cup. The bar is high - congratulations to our 2025 international panelists.”
With their appointments, the 15 referees, 20 assistant referees, 10 video match officials and three futsal referees have the distinction and opportunity to represent the United States at the highest international levels in 2025.
The 18 women selected tie the record first set in 2023 for the most female U.S. Soccer officials appointed to the FIFA panel. Additionally, six of the 10 video match officials are also on the FIFA Panel as referees or assistant referees.
2025 FIFA PANEL – REFEREES (First Year on FIFA Panel)
Alexandra Bileter (2023)
Danielle Chesky (2020)
Joe Dickerson (2023)
Ismail Elfath (2016)
Jon Freemon (2024)
Guido Gonzales, Jr. (2025)
Katja Koroleva (2014)
Alyssa Nichols (2023)
Tori Penso (2021)
Victor Rivas(2023)
Natalie Simon (2022)
Lukasz Szpala (2024)
Rubiel Vazquez (2020)
Armando Villarreal (2015)
Anya Voigt (2024)
The 15 U.S. Soccer referees on the 2024 FIFA International Panel include newcomer Guido Gonzales, Jr., who officiated the 2024 MLS Cup Final between LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls on Dec. 7 and is a finalist for 2024 U.S. Soccer Male Referee of the Year.
ASSISTANT REFEREES (First Year on FIFA Panel)
Kyle Atkins (2018)
Cameron Blanchard (2019)
Logan Brown (2020)
Jose Da Silva (2023)
Chris Elliott (2024)
Jennifer Garner (2018)
Ryan Graves (2024)
Jeremy Kieso (2022)
Felisha Mariscal (2014)
Brooke Mayo (2018)
Alicia Messer (2018)
Meghan Mullen (2022)
Kathryn Nesbitt (2016)
Corey Parker (2015)
Salma Perez (2023)
Cory Richardson (2022)
Kali Smith (2023)
Tiffini Turpin (2023)
Luis Uranga (2020)
Katarzyna Wasiak (2024)
VIDEO MATCH OFFICIALS (First Year on FIFA Panel)
Kyle Atkins (2022)^
Allen Chapman (2021)
Joe Dickerson (2025)^
Timothy Ford (2021)
Edvin Jurisevic (2021)
Katja Koroleva (2025)^
Brooke Mayo (2024)^
Kathryn Nesbitt (2022)^
Chris Penso (2021)
Armando Villarreal (2022)^
^Also on the 2025 FIFA Panel as a referee or assistant referee
Appointed as a referee to the FIFA Panel in 2014, Katja Koroleva joins as a video match official in 2025. Joe Dickerson, who was appointed as referee in 2023, also joins the FIFA Panel as a VMO in 2025.
Of the 10 VMOs, seven are also referees or assistant referees. Allen Chapman, Timothy Ford and Edvin Jurisevic are solely video match officials and are three of the four longest-serving VMOs on the FIFA Panel.
FUTSAL REFEREES (First Year on FIFA Panel)
Joshua Wilkens (2019)
Krystin Pahia (2024)
Matthew Rodman (2024)
About the U.S. Soccer Federation
Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer has been the official governing body of the sport in the United States for more than 100 years. As U.S. Soccer looks toward the future amid an unprecedented moment of opportunity, we’ve aligned our efforts around five strategic pillars: Grow the game by increasing youth and adult participation and accessibility to the sport; Foster the best playing environments through quality of referees and coaches, increase DEIB and participant safety; Develop winning teams through solidified pathways and success of professional leagues; Grow the soccer economy to fuel reinvestment by increasing membership, fandom and commercial success; and Create a world-class organization through revitalized structure and culture, best-in-class talent, progress in DEIB, and more. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision.
