On Tuesday 14th April 2026, The Referees’ Association was represented on an historic night at Wembley for the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier between England & Spain.
High Wycombe RA and BAMREF Board member Carol John accompanied The Referees’ Association’s Vice-Chair Sarah Hobbs, as guests of The FA in the Royal Box to watch the action and join in with the celebrations.
Carol said, “For me, a school night at a full Wembley, watching England face Spain, was special. It wasn’t just the scale of the crowd or the quality on the pitch, it was the feeling of being part of a moment.
The noise, the joy, and the ongoing conversations and celebrations, all pointing to the same truth: the women’s game isn’t the future of football. It’s the present for players and referees.”
This was such an auspicious night for the Lionesses and women’s football, with England on the cusp of their 500th international match.
Mary Earps was recognised prior to kick-off for her contributions to women’s football, after her retirement from the international game, by being presented with a framed shirt and flowers from The FA Chair, Debbie Hewitt.
Members of Lionesses squads gone by, and who paved the way for this generation, stood and applauded in a guard of honour as the England team made their way out from the tunnel. Such a special moment.
Kiera Walsh was honoured with not only the captaincy on the penultimate match before the 500th fixture, but she was also celebrating her 100th cap for her country and was presented with a shirt with 100 on the back, in recognition of this milestone in her career.
Vice-Chair, Sarah Hobbs commented on the evening, “As a child growing up, I could only dream of such an occasion, but being present, and representing not only female referees, but all referees is a pinch me moment for sure.
I remember refereeing Millwall Women vs Tottenham Hotspur Women, back when it was the Women’s Premier League, on the local park with a man and a dog watching on the sidelines.
Now seeing the national team playing at Wembley and regularly seeing attendances above 60,000 just shows the phenomenal rise the women’s game is having.
We’re not just seeing this rise in young girls playing football, but this is also being translated in the growth in female match officials in the game. When I first qualified 23 years ago, I was one of two female officials in the whole of London.”
The impact of the Lionesses successes can be clearly seen as The FA has noted a 113% increase in the number of female referees in the UK between 2020 and 2024.
It was an evening of celebrations with Paul Kirby being recognised for his selection at the 2025 Deaflympics in Japan, as the first time in 100 years of the Deaflympics, that a Deaf referee officiated the women’s final.
Vice-Chair Sarah Hobbs, who listened to Paul’s inspirational story, approached him afterwards to offer the congratulations on behalf of The Referees’ Association for such a historic and momentous achievement.
Image: RA Vice Chair Sarah Hobbs with High Wycombe RA Member Carol John
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