Sarah Thomas will become first female to officiate at Super Bowl

SARAH THOMAS WILL become the first woman to officiate in a Super Bowl after being named in the seven-strong crew for the showdown on 7 February.

Cheffers will be working his second Super Bowl in five seasons, having also served as crew chief for Super Bowl LI.

Thomas will be the first female official to serve in a Super Bowl.

"Their body of work over the course of a 17-game season has earned them the honor of officiating the biggest game on the world's biggest stage", said Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations.

This story will be updated. She has worked a total of four postseason games in six seasons with the league.

It's far from the first glass ceiling that Thomas has shattered in her career.

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It will be the eighth Super Bowl for the three Paganelli brothers combined.

Cheffers, a veteran of 21 National Football League seasons, will referee his second Super Bowl after being in charge for the New England Patriots' 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI in 2017. He worked the 2017 Super Bowl.

Super Bowl LV is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. February 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

The crew includes umpire Fred Bryan, line judge Rusty Baynes, field judge James Coleman, side judge Eugene Hall, back judge Dino Paganelli and replay official Mike Wimmer.

The two teams for this year's contest will be known after Sunday's Conference Championships.