MANCHESTER FA REFEREEING BECOMES HER GAME TOO PARTNER

By Faye Hackwell

 Female refereeing in Manchester is at an all-time high, with an increasing number of women becoming match officials in the area.

Manchester Football Association currently has 127 female match officials registered in the region – the most in its history – and Her Game Too has welcomed Manchester FA Refereeing on board as the campaign’s newest partner.

Manchester FA Refereeing is responsible for the recruitment, retention, development and progression of match officials in Greater Manchester. 

As well as having a thriving Female Refereeing Development Group headed up by Women’s Super League assistant referee Leoni Harland, Manchester FA also runs female-only refereeing courses to bring new women into the role.

The partnership with Her Game Too will support this ongoing work and lead to the creation of a new Female Referee Ambassador for the region.

Conor Brown, Referee Development Officer at Manchester FA, said: “Manchester FA Refereeing and Her Game Too are working together to improve the environment within football for female match officials.

“Refereeing is continuing to grow within England and, unfortunately, in recent seasons, we have seen an increased number of discrimination cases and sexist language used towards female match officials.

“The excellent and important work that Her Game Too undertakes is focused on females within football; creating a Female Referee Ambassador role with Manchester FA allows Her Game Too to explore an avenue of a role within football that has previously been untouched and showcases that refereeing is for females too.”

The ambassador will work closely with clubs in Greater Manchester to educate, improve the environment for female match officials and support any women who have been subjected to discrimination or sexist language.

Conor continued: “They will act as a mentor and soundboard, as someone who has lived experience of being a female match official and can truly understand the negative impact discrimination or sexist language has upon wellbeing and performance in the role.

“Working with Her Game Too will benefit both Manchester FA and Her Game Too, as the education with the clubs will improve the environment for female match officials.  

“This will result in female match officials feeling further supported and valued; in turn meaning the retention of female match officials is greater.

“Due to the visible support being offered, more females will see refereeing as an option for them.

“Refereeing is truly for everyone and it is important that we recruit referees to be truly reflective of Greater Manchester.

“Ensuring we provide equal opportunities for everyone and demonstrating that refereeing is accessible for all is a key focus of the work we undertake.”

Priya Guru, Her Game Too’s Manchester United Ambassador, welcomed the partnership after meeting Conor and Leigh Gell, Manchester FA’s Football Development Officer for Women and Girls, to discuss creating the partnership.

She said: “This is such an exciting project and a new avenue to approach for Her Game Too! 

“Conor and Leigh are both so passionate to show how much refereeing is for females too, and just how much it has grown and is still growing.

“But they are not just here to outline what is good.

“They also want to also help educate us at Her Game Too, to help us understand how we can improve and support female match officials further. 

“This will not only make a difference for current female match officials, but also new and upcoming ones, who may not feel as confident to make that step just yet.

“Her Game Too are always looking for new and different ways to help females within the sporting world, and we are excited we have yet another avenue we can begin to tackle to make a difference.”

Manchester FA runs Female Refereeing Development Group meetings throughout the season and will be looking to recruit for the new Female Referee Ambassador role in due course.