English Football League Gets Its First Female Referee

On Easter Monday, football referee Rebecca Welch will make history as the first woman to officiate the men’s English Football League (EFL) from the outset. Welch will lead Harrogate Town’s League Two match against Port Vale.

In 2017 and 2020, the 37-year-old from Washington in County Durham, officiated the Women’s FA Cup final.

When Amy Fearn came on as an injury substitute in the 2010 Championship game between Coventry and Nottingham Forest, she became the first woman referee an EFL match. Welch, on the other hand, is the first player to be given a game directly.

Welch is excited for this new role and states that working with the EFL isan amazing opportunity for her.“It shows that there is a real opportunity for young girls who are wondering whether they are able to take the whistle or are already referees, so they can aspire to be an EFL referee or work in the Premier League,” she told a portal.

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