Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi has officially become the first female referee to join the officiating team for a Serie A season, starting in the upcoming 2022-23 campaign.
The AIA officially confirmed her promotion to Serie A, making Ferrieri Caputi the first woman to join the league’s officiating team. She has a long history in football, joining the referees’ association in 2007, working in the provincial and regional leagues.
In 2015, Ferrieri Caputi started officiating Serie D matches and after 24 months she was given the honour of overseeing the Poule Scudetto match between Bari and AZ Picerno. Her next major leap came in 2019, when she oversaw two Women’s European Championship qualifying matches.
The following year in 2020 she began overseeing Serie C matches, as well as one Serie B game between Cittadella and SPAL and then later a Coppa Italia clash between Cagliari and Cittadella in 2021.
The introduction of Ferrieri Caputi to Serie A is an important step in improving the diversity and inclusion of football, as well as helping to raise the profile of the women’s game in Italy.