Madrid, July 1: La Liga is set to have its first female official next season, the Spanish Football Federation announced on Tuesday. Guadalupe Porras Ayuso, a 32-year-old assistant referee, will become the first woman ever to officiate in the league. Spanish La Liga 2018-19.

"The assistant referee will be the first woman to debut in the top flight," the RFEF said in a statement. Another female referee, Marisa Villa, was named in La Liga's list in 2007 but did not passed the physical tests required to officiate a match. Porras Ayuso has worked in Segunda, the men's second division, for two seasons and before that officiated for eight seasons in Segunda B, the third division in Spain.

Her promotion is another boost for gender equality in Spanish football, following a year of unprecedented interest in the women's game. A European record crowd of 60,739 watched Barcelona play Atletico Madrid in Liga Iberdrola at the Metropolitano in March. And Spain made its best ever run at the Women's World Cup last month, reaching the last 16 before losing to the United States.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2019 07:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).