History was made in this weekend’s fixtures as the Wray Cup encounter between Dukinfield Amateurs and FC Babylon became the first in the L&C AFL to be officiated by an all-female team from a Black, Asian and Mixed Ethnicity (BAME) background.
Feiruz Abdullah, Adora Yau and Adanze Uzidumma were in charge of the competitive encounter at Astley Sports Village in Tameside and officiated the encounter in exemplary fashion.
It is an important step in the FA’s Respect initiative and indicates the L&C’s commitment to supporting and promoting diversity.
Russell Hoyte, the L&C Referees Secretary, explains the ways in which diversity is being supported over the next three years whilst simultaneously increasing the number of referees.
He said: “This season, facing the battle of numbers and availability, I have, with the support of the Manchester County FA and new FA diversity initiative, been able to meet this (refereeing) demand.
“The Reflective and Representative campaign aiming to recruit 1,000 people from BAME backgrounds over the next three years has aided the L&C in meeting its commitments to provide officials.
“Along with the introduction of young officials, we are supporting officials in their development.”
This led to the weekend’s officials at Astley Sports Village, all of whom are making impressive strides in their officiating journeys. Feiruz is in her second season of officiating, while Adora and Adanze are both from the FA and County FA’s newly introduced Heritage programme, and all produced a performance appreciated by both sides.
