Welch hopes to pass on legacy to female referees

Trailblazing referee Rebecca Welch said she hopes "somebody other picks up the legacy" arsenic she was inducted into the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame.

The 40-year-old made past successful 2021 erstwhile she became the archetypal pistillate to referee an EFL match, taking complaint of Harrogate Town v Port Vale successful League Two.

She aboriginal officiated successful the Championship and the 3rd circular of the men's FA Cup earlier refereeing Fulham v Burnley successful the Premier League astatine Craven Cottage successful 2023.

Welch has present stepped distant from on-field duties to instrumentality connected a managerial relation wrong PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) to enactment and make officials for the women's game.

Speaking astatine her induction successful the Hall of Fame, Welch told BBC Sport: "It's a bequest that volition spell connected for a fewer years and I'm blessed for it to.

"But successful a fewer years' time, I anticipation idiosyncratic other picks up that bequest and drives it further connected from what I have.

"That is what my caller relation is successful the future. It would beryllium bully if radical are not talking astir Rebecca Welch immoderate more, but astir different pistillate authoritative who has done the aforesaid arsenic maine and hopefully a small spot more."

There are present 14 pistillate referees connected football's planetary database and a 113% summation successful the fig of pistillate officials since 2020, according to figures released by the Football Association past month.

The Women's Select Group - the apical pistillate referees successful the crippled - has much than doubled successful numbers since the commencement of 2022, accidental PGMOL.

Among them is WSL referee Emily Carney, who worked with Welch astatine the Olympic Games this summer, arsenic good arsenic Abigail Byrne.

"I deliberation it's a large accidental for immoderate pistillate wanting to get into the game," added Welch.

"Once you get progressive successful it, you get hooked. There's nary amended clip to beryllium a pistillate referee with the maturation of the women's game. It's truly exciting."

Welch has officiated successful immoderate of the biggest events successful football, including the Women's FA Cup and Champions League finals, arsenic good arsenic the 2022 Women's European Championship, erstwhile the Lionesses were crowned champions connected location soil.

But Welch says her proudest infinitesimal was refereeing astatine Wembley Stadium for the archetypal clip and seeing that go a regular diagnostic of the women's game.

"The Women's FA Cup last had lone conscionable started being played determination - which is wherever it should beryllium being played," said Welch.

"That was special. It volition ever spell down [as a arrogant moment] for me. But determination are truthful many. I consciousness similar I've grown successful my vocation alongside the WSL.

"I was determination from the commencement truthful my travel has been a portion of that growth. We request to support up with the maturation of the WSL and arsenic referees, beryllium present."

Referees successful the WSL are not yet full-time and Welch says that is simply a treatment that "will beryllium had" with the Women's Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL).

"That is thing I deliberation volition hap successful the future. The league is full-time present and has been for a fig of years," she added.

"Although the referees are nonrecreational successful everything they do, that full-time constituent is inactive missing. We volition person immoderate conversations and spell from there."

Welch's determination to measurement distant from refereeing came arsenic a astonishment but she admits it was "in the backmost of her mind" for a fewer months.

"I had been to Wembley, to the Euros, a World Cup and refereed successful the Premier League and I ever wanted to spell retired astatine the apical of my game," said Welch.

"I thought it would beryllium bully to decorativeness astatine a large tourney and the Olympic Games was a bully one.

"The relation astatine the PGMOL came astatine the close clip which meant I could inactive beryllium progressive successful the maturation of the WSL and Women's Championship going forward."