From park football to Parc Olympique... it’s been a long road, but I’m off to World Cup

IT’S BEEN a long road to the women’s World Cup for Lisa Rashid.

The elite match official will be taking part in France after overcoming all manner of obstacles en route to the jamboree in June.

From refereeing in her teens as a way to earn extra pocket money, to fielding unwanted marriage proposals and proving herself in the rough and tumble of men’s football, it has been a tricky path to navigate.

Now she will step into the spotlight in five months’ time, having put her professional career on hold and leaving her partner holding her 15-month-old baby, Isla, while she steps into the spotlight. Rashid is qualified to run the line in Leagues One and Two where, thankfully, players have stopped short of putting her on the spot as she was during her early days with the whistle.

She said: “The phone call to say I was going to the World Cup has made it all worth it. It was a great feeling.

“It seems a long way to come, from refereeing on park pitches in Sandwell, but it shows that it can be done.

Stick

“In my first three matches I handed out three red cards for foul and abusive language. The word got around quickly that I wouldn’t stand for any messing and the players then got off my back and left me to it. But I’ve taken plenty of stick. There have been times when I’ve walked off the pitch at the end of 90 minutes and wondered whether it has been worth it.

“There have also been lighter moments. I’ve had three or four proposals on the pitch. Players have gone down on one knee during the game. I’ve had to say: ‘Thanks very much but can we get on with it, please?’ I would add that it has never happened during a professional game. “Another time I was travelling to an Academy game at Northampton Town. Their pitch was in the middle of nowhere and I was lost. I spotted their opponents’ team bus and f ollowed it, guessing it was going to the game.

“Some of the players spotted I was behind and it wasn’t long before they started gesticulating at me. You’ve probably got a good idea what they were doing.

“Anyway, I followed them to the ground, took my kit bag out of the car. Someone asked who I was and the look on their faces when they realised what they had been doing to the match official was absolutely priceless.” However, Rashid and other female officials are facing challenges. They are still part-time and, at international level, they have to fit in their fitness work, travel and games around full-time work.

Rashid added: “A lot of the girls are using all their holiday to referee. They are juggling jobs and officiating and some of them have now got families too.

Lucky

“I’ve got eight days in Doha in preparation for the World Cup, then two weeks at the Algarve Cup. There is potentially six weeks involved in the World Cup in total.

“I’m lucky that my partner, Andy Hall, who is a former referee himself, understands t he sacrifices and commitment that you have to make.

“And it is a sacrifice, certainly when it comes to a career. I was made redundant in March. If I apply for jobs now it won’t be fair to any employers.”