It was amazing recently to have mother and daughter, Debra and Elisa, on our referees’ course both looking to inspire more females into the game.

“I’d like to referee younger girls, so they have someone to look up to, and you don't have to just play to be involved in football,” says newly qualified, 16-year-old, Elisa.

It’s incredible that we are now part of a generation where Elisa as a young girl not only has female role models in the game but is now looking to be just that herself.

Likewise, her mum, Debra, who also completed the same referees’ course and herself has the power to inspire the ‘missed generation’ who could still have a pathway in the game.

“I don't play football, but both my girls do, and I wanted to share that with them and be part of it. We struggle with referees at the girls games, we don't always have them, so as I'm at all the matches anyway, and doing the line, I thought why not start refereeing. 

“I thought it would be great to do a referee course and actually help them further.  It was a hard decision to go because we knew it would be mainly men on the course, and it was a bit intimidating. But the fact we teamed together to do it, made it much easier and less daunting than doing it by ourselves.”

Elisa plays for Bognor Regis Town Girls Under-18s and for her, the referees’ course has helped her knowledge as a player.

"I've been playing football for eight years now and I wanted to progress and see it in a different way. It also gives me some pocket money!

“Being a referee, it's like learning to play football but in a whole different perspective. As a player, I now know more when it comes to referees making their decisions, and what you can get away with. I feel like I know the game a lot more now, and it's definitely added to my game.” 

As a female, it can be a daunting experience going into these courses, a barrier we as an organisation are looking to break down. Debra and Elisa explain to us how inclusive the course was to them.

“I love watching football, but I don't play it, so it was a huge learning curve for me. I had to really study hard to ensure I knew all the rules, so that I have some credibility when I go out there. So, it was intense, but a really nice experience,” said Debra on completing the course.

“I found the whole thing was very inclusive, they didn't treat any genders differently, or even experience and backgrounds, everyone was treated the same.

“They made us all feel like we were the same level and all in the same place. They were very accessible in their approach to it, very hands on. 

“There was not a moment where I felt uncomfortable and we were comfortable to feel like there were no silly questions, every question was valid, and it would be explained to us really well. It helps you understand another level of the game and I love that I now know more when talking about football.

“It was great having other girls on the course too, there were four of us out of around 20 on the course. Everyone was inclusive but of course we felt more at ease not being the only girls.” 

Elisa added: “The tutors were really good with us, explained everything really well, and how to handle different situations, so they made it a great experience.”

The mother and daughter duo are now ready to officiate games and for Debra her first game was one she won’t forget in a hurry!

“I had my first game recently refereeing my youngest daughter for Bognor Regis Town Girls Under-13s. The girls were so excited, very supportive, and my daughter was captain, so I had to do the coin-toss with her there at the start, it was a lovely experience! 

“When I saw her and her eyes looking at me knowing I'm the referee, I hope she was proud! I'm not sure if I'll do Elisa's under-18s yet, but maybe in the future with more experience. 

“It was a really good experience, but I made a classic first game mistake of forgetting to set my stopwatch as the game started. I blew the whistle then five minutes in I was like 'what is the time?' But the managers were really good, and I just went to them, and they told me. 

“The girls were understanding because I presented myself and said it was my first match and everyone there was so supportive. It was very useful what we learnt in the course, I did exactly what they said, build a rapport at the start, introduced myself and it was like a checklist that they taught us. So, I did it all apart from setting my watch!”

The Cauchy-Duval family is a strong football supporting family with different nationalities across the board. Debra is Mexican with her husband Matthieu from France then their daughters born here in England.

“We're a very international family which makes it problematic when we're choosing who we're supporting,” jokes Debra.

And speaking of Matthieu, Debra tells what he thought of them completing the referee course.

“Matthieu coaches the under-13 girls at Bognor for my younger daughter, and we are struggling to get sponsors, so my plan is to save all the money I get from refereeing and put it all into their team. 

“I want them to be able to get new equipment, new kit and just anything that can help them progress. 

“He was always asking me to do the line all the time, and at the beginning it was very hard because I was nervous, I'd make mistakes, but the more he pushed me, I started to understand it more. 

“He encouraged us to do refereeing because I think he just wanted someone to do his matches, he's the only man in the house with three ladies and he's so supportive of us. 

“We might take our refereeing beyond Level 7, we're unsure at the moment, but we love it, so we will see!”

Finally, Debra and Elisa gave some inspiring words for any other women and girls looking to get into refereeing.

Elisa said: “If you like the game but don't want to play, refereeing is a great option because it gives you that chance to still be around and amongst it. 

“As a girl, yeah it's daunting, but it gives you so much more opportunity within the game!”

Debra finished up our conversation by adding: “Do not be afraid to learn something new, get out of your comfort zone. I would never have imagined that I would become a referee, and actually it's very accessible. 

“Don't be put off because you might lack some knowledge, or because you don't play football, because I don't! But I can referee if I know the rules, you don't have to be an expert player on the pitch to become a referee!” 

Our Referee Development Manager, Paul Jeffery, added: “I was delighted to hear that Debra and Elisa, were on one of our courses. I cannot recall there ever being a mother and daughter combination on a Sussex County FA refereeing course together.

“They have already made history, and hopefully they will inspire more referees to join our ever-increasing female numbers of match officials.”

Our Referee Development Manager, Paul Jeffery, had this to say: “I was delighted to hear that Debra and Elisa, were on the course.

“I cannot recall there ever being a mother and daughter combination on a Sussex FA refereeing course together.

“They have already made history, and hopefully they will inspire more referees to join our ever-increasing female numbers of match officials.”

If you are interested in becoming a referee completing the below Expression of Interest form is the first step of your refereeing journey.
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

For more information about refereeing in Sussex please contact:

Refereeing
T: 01903 768573
E: Referees@SussexFA.com