I am a very proud young, BAME, female referee. Why don’t you join me?
Although some players may not approve of my nagging, the overwhelming majority of people at my club are supportive
When you think of a football referee, the words “old white male” probably come to mind – or at least they did for me. Quite frankly, it doesn’t seem like a pleasant job at first glance; you are always the first to be blamed and the last to be praised. However, my experience as a young, black and minority ethnic female referee has been largely positive, and refereeing could be the perfect counter to the phenomenon of young women dropping out of sport.
I always dreamed of a career in football growing up but, as I got older, injuries and, perhaps more accurately, a sheer lack of talent meant that a professional playing career did not materialise. When I was 16, the age that many girls lose interest in playing sports, a few of my teammates were doing the Football Association’s referee course to officiate as a weekend job. For me, the prospect of earning money in a football-related job was far more appealing than working in retail or waitressing, so I soon followed suit.