Fantastic experience for Central Coast Football Referees

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It was an experience five lucky Central Coast Football female referees will not be forgetting in a hurry after the girls were offered the opportunity to meet and greet the FIFA match-day officials at the Matildas’ last friendly match against Thailand as well as going behind the scenes.

Tatiana Prica-Chamberlin, Lucy Marshall, Emily Henderson, Olivia Eyndhoven and Victoria Robinson all took part in this fantastic initiative at Central Coast Stadium where they met FA’s General Manger for Elite Refereeing Mathew Cheeseman as well as FA’s General Manager for Community Refereeing Jacqui Hurford.

The five participants met with FIFA Referee and New Zealander Anna-Marie Keighley as well as assistants Maria Salamasina from Samoa and Mi Suk Park from Korea along with Australia’s Rebecca Durcau who all officiated in the Matildas’ 2-0 victory on Tuesday, 15th of November.

The girls had the opportunity to listen in on the referee communications during the match as well as hear what it is like to be out on the field during an elite match.

“These kinds of experiences are so important to young females coming through the referee pathway,” said Football NSW’s Community Football Referees Coordinator Emma Kocbek.

“Thank you to FA, and the referees on the match for giving the Central Coast referees the opportunity.”

Central Coast Football’s Luke Dunkerley echoed Kocbek’s sentiments.

“The girls had an amazing time, thank you Football NSW for arranging this opportunity for the girls.

“It was an excellent night for the wider Central Coast community that involved a number of wonderful Football and FA opportunities.”

The girls themselves were overjoyed with the unforgettable experience.

“Getting to meet the referees for the Matildas vs Thailand match gave me a whole new perspective on refereeing,” said Victoria Robinson.

“Being able to talk with the referees, asking questions about their own career and how they got into refereeing was a such a fun experience and being able to listen to the referees on communications during the match. Seeing how they would go with the language barrier and how much communication there was between the referees was very cool. Thank you Football NSW for giving me such a great lifetime experience,” ended Robinson.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience, listening to the referees through communications and being able to meet them in person,” said Olivia Eyndhoven.

“This was an amazing experience behind the scenes of professional referees. A once in a lifetime opportunity,” Tatiana Prica-Chamberlin said.

While finally Lucy Marshall could not believe her luck when she took part in such an educational referee experience.

“Unforgettable is all I can say, this amazing opportunity has given me the knowledge I will carry for years to come.”

Click here to find out more on how to become a referee today. 

Header photo by Joseph Mayers