Referee Rebecca Welch is to be inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame.The 40-year-old became the first woman to referee a Premier League fixture when she took charge of Burnley’s 2-0 victory over Fulham in December.
Welch, who became a referee in 2010, was also the first woman to referee a men’s game in the Championship in January 2023.
“It’s quite overwhelming, I was very honoured to be asked,” Welch said.
“My journey started 13 years ago and now here I am having refereed in one of the biggest leagues in the world, being inducted to the Hall of Fame alongside legends of the game, it doesn’t feel real to me.”
When she started refereeing in 2010, Welch combined it with a job in the NHS, before becoming a full-time official in 2019.
She was the first woman to be appointed as referee for English Football League match in April 2021, leading a team of officials in for the League Two game between Harrogate Town and Port Vale.
Amy Fearn was the first female referee in the EFL in 2010, when she stepped in as an injury replacement for Tony Bates for the final 20 minutes of a match between Coventry and Nottingham Forest.
Welch’s work has also been recognised on the international stage when she was added to Fifa’s elite list of international match officials in December 2020, before refereeing at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last summer.
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