FIFA Referee Meet and Greet Opportunity
As part of Football Australia’s, Play Her Way initiative, five South Australian Female Match Officials had the opportunity to be a part of a Meet and Greet with the FIFA Match Officials who were in Adelaide for the Matildas v New Zealand match on December 2nd.
The Meet and Greet consisted of two sessions. The first allowed the referees to attend the Match Officials training session the day before the match. The FIFA Match Officials’ dedication, focus and athleticism was on display as they worked through their individual sessions. Post training, the Officials generously gave their time to answer questions from our referees on topics that included pathways, work/life balance and travel.
The second session was the opportunity to sit in the Referee Coaching box and listen to the referees’ in-match communication during the first half of the match. This gave our referees insight into how referees work as a team and support each other during play. This session concluded with heading out on to the pitch post-game for a photo with all four Match Officials, including South Australia’s own Isabella Cooper, and a few Matildas.
Kristen Nugent, who participated in the session, had the following reflection:
“The experience for me was great - being able to see how professional they were, passionate about the game and how they were able to balance their work and families at work were super important to me as it was relatable my own situation. It’s important that we have female referees as part of all games at every level to show equality and parity with our male counterparts. It should still be based on merit, effort and standards, but if it is able to be done, it should be!
Being able to listen into the comms also helped me to see (well hear!) that they do what we do - just normal communication and that even though they are from different backgrounds and countries, that working collaboratively is core to getting the right outcomes. “
Want to have experiences like this and help strengthen our game? Become a Referee in 2026 – click HERE