Top female referee Rebecca Welch visited a female Northampton Town Premier League Kicks after school club at Sir Christopher Hatton School in Wellingborough.
She talked about what goes into becoming a referee and discussed the opportunities of becoming a top female official.
Rebecca is currently the highest ranked female referee in England, operating on the WSL and the men’s national league and has also been representing England on the FIFA list of referees since 2015.
She qualified as a referee in 2010 and has worked her way up the refereeing pyramid over the past ten years. She officiated the 2017 FA women’s cup final at Wembley between Manchester City and Birmingham City in front of 35,000 fans and was appointed to the UEFA women’s under 19 championships in Switzerland in 2018.
Rebecca also visited the evening Northampton Town PL Kicks session at the Kingsway Centre in Wellingborough. She joined in the ‘turn up and play’ session and gave advice on refereeing to players.
The young people here attend free weekly sessions with Northampton Town's community coaches. These are provided as a positive diversionary activities to engage youngsters rather than being influenced by crime and gangs.
Premier League Kicks is a national initiative funded by the Premier League Charitable Fund and runs from every professional football club. Locally, we are supported by Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold’s ‘Keeping Northamptonshire Safer’ fund too and have strong partnerships with the police, local borough councils and community venues.
Sessions run in Blackthorn in Northampton and Kingsway and Queensway in Wellingborough and include girls and disability after school clubs at Rowan Gate Primary, Hatton and Weston Favell secondary schools.