Katia Itzel García just etched her name in the annals of history, not just by being the first woman to wave the flag in a Liga MX match in two whole decades, but by doing it with the flair and conviction that had everyone talking as Pachuca and Querétaro squared off.
García was the boss on the pitch during Saturday’s electrifying Clausura game, before jetting off to San Diego to call the shots at the Women’s Gold Cup Final on Sunday. This Mexican powerhouse is the sequel we’ve been waiting for since Virginia Tovar first broke the mold in 2004, becoming only the second woman to officiate in Liga MX.
Since 2016, García has been slaying it at the professional level, and at just 31, she’s already blown whistles and flashed cards in arenas as grand as the Women’s World Cup and as heartfelt as Liga MX Femenil.
Lately, women referees are not just entering the scene; they’re rewriting the script worldwide. Take Rebecca Welch, who bulldozed her way into the Premier League last year, shattering glass ceilings with every step in English football. And in the MLS, Tori Penso made history not once but twice – as the league’s inaugural full-time female referee and the first in two decades to officiate a match in 2020.
But, for all these stories of triumph, the world of men’s football remains a vast sea of sameness – predominantly white, predominantly male. True change isn’t about the odd match here and there; it’s about consistently placing women in the heart of the action, where they undeniably belong.
Women don’t just have a role to play in football; they are integral to its very essence. And García? She’s not just part of the narrative. She’s leading it, laying down a marker for every woman who dreams of commanding the pitch. Here’s to the day when women ruling the centre circle becomes the norm, not the exception, all over the globe.
