Please register your interest on this link. Alternatively if you would like to find out about refereeing and the processes involved, then please click here. Hampshire FA has a page dedicated to promoting women & girls refereeing and opportunities on the website as well as a dedicated Twitter page @HFAFemaleRefs. 

***Young Referees Development Day*** 

Winchester Road
Chandlers Ford
Eastleigh
Hants
SO53 2DW

The day also includes a female-only breakout session taking place 1-2pm.

Please note that all girls interested register for the day (10am – 3pm) must complete a medical form & media consent form. Interested? Please email: Isabella.Sakias@HampshireFA.com for details.

We recommend all registered participants wear suitable sportswear (trainers, tracksuit, shorts) on the day for the practical sessions and bring a bottled water/drink with them to last the duration of the day.

The schedule of the day is as follows:-

10am – welcome & icebreaker
10:30am – 12pm – Round robin of 3 sessions which includes dealing with injuries, communication on and off the field & what to say with the captain’s / assistant referees. 
12 – 12:45pm – Lunch
1 – 2pm – Female-only break-out session
2:30pm – Reflection on what we’ve done
3pm – Close

Read the inspirational stories from our female referees and let them paint the picture of refereeing and the opportunities refereeing brings for females:

My Dallas Cup Experience - Paula Wyatt

It all started back in September 2015 where as part of the South East Region Referee Development Group we were given the opportunity to apply to go on a once in a lifetime trip to Dallas. Following my application I had to get through a telephone interview which went well and along with Tom Holden who was also in the South East Region Development Group we were both selected to represent the group at a Dallas Selection tournament in Liverpool in October 2015.

The Dallas Selection tournament was an extremely intense weekend but a great opportunity for all 16 of the selection referees to show off our abilities to perform both as a referee, an assistant and a fourth official. It also gave us a small insight into what Dallas might be like. All of our games had coaches on, who were assessing our performance and providing us with some valuable feedback. My coach for the weekend was Roy Burton, who I would be fortunate enough to work with again whilst in Dallas.

The following week we all received an email advising us on the outcome of the selection tournament. Eight of us were going to be over the moon whilst the other eight were going to be hugely disappointed. I was sat on a train on the way back from a midweek game at Guernsey when my email came through and it was a great feeling to read that I was one of the lucky eight and I would be on the plane to Dallas.

The couple of months that followed absolutely flew by and before I knew it I was up at Warwick for a pre-Dallas weekend where I would get to meet the other seven fortunate referees along with the three guys from the PGMOL and all of the coaches that would be joining me for the trip. By the end of the weekend it was fair to say we were all extremely excited and eager for the trip to start.

The time had finally arrived and we were on our way to Dallas. During our stay in Dallas the eight of us referees were all paired up to homestay with an American family. I was paired up with James Oldham (Derbyshire FA) to stay with Scott and Carol Doggett for the duration of our trip. I was pretty nervous about staying with some complete strangers but I cannot fault it at all. They were so accommodating and treated us like one of their own, so much so that by the end of the first week they were calling us their kids. We still keep in touch today!

The first week in Dallas was a week of early morning training sessions which were tough but rewarding and gave us all something to take away and incorporate into our training sessions back home. The tough mornings allowed us to enjoy tourist activities, school visits, shopping and social events in the afternoons and evenings though. This included a visit to the JFK museum and The Dallas Cowboys Stadium as well as a truly touching experience where we got to serve dinner at the homeless shelter. We also had plenty of time with our families enjoying family BBQs, evenings out and even an easter egg hunt.  

The second week saw the start of what we had all been waiting for; the games. My first game was to referee Dallas Texans 99B Red U17s v Richmond Hill RH Raiders 1999 U17s at Richland College. For my first game it was nice to have two American teams who both spoke English as well as 3 fellow English speaking colleagues. My coach for this game was Roy Burton which was a nice start as we had worked together before so knew what each other was like. The game went smoothly, both teams were well behaved and just wanted to play football whilst my refereeing team were all extremely supportive and worked well as a team. All in all a great and enjoyable start to the tournament.

The next day would see me referee at Richland again. This time they were not two English speaking teams and not all of my refereeing colleagues were English speaking which was going to be a new challenge for me. The game was Club Universidad Nacional U16s v Crossfire Premier 2000 U16s where Colin Webster would be my coach. He was my designated coach for the whole tournament so it was good to get an opportunity to work with him.

The rest of the week saw me pick up another five assistant referee appointments including the U16 cup quarter final and U17 cup semi-final.

By the end of the week we were all feeling pretty tired and our legs were certainly sore. We got to round off the week by supporting our colleagues and new found friends from around the world who got to referee the finals.

The two weeks completely flew by and we got to finish the trip off with a much deserved referees party. The trip was a truly fantastic and life changing experience that I would recommend to anyone who gets the opportunity to go. New friendships have been formed and the foundations have been set for what I hope to be a highly successful refereeing career.

Opportunities in the Women’s Game

As a female who loved football but was never very good at playing I wasn’t left with many choices in order to stay involved in the game.

In the end I went on the Referees course with my dad where we both successfully passed.

Initially refereeing was a daunting experience, however as my confidence grew my enjoyment for refereeing grew as well and I started to seek the opportunities to progress up the refereeing ladder.

The opportunities now available within the Women’s game are incredible and if it wasn’t for football I would never have been able to do half the things I have.

With the women’s super league now established I have been fortunate enough to referee at the highest level of the women’s game in England as well as enjoying two memorable trips in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The opportunity to officiate live on BT Sport was also something that will stay with me for a long long time.

The opportunities are there for anyone who wants to get involved and I couldn’t recommend it enough.  

Register here for a female-only Get into Referee workshop with the opportunity to then undertake a female-only referees course.