Becoming the first female to do so, it confirmed referee Rebecca Welch to officiate the men’s third-round FA Cup tie between Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle.
Rebecca Welch to Officiate FA Cup Third Round Tie
Rebecca Welch is set to make history as the first female referee to take charge of an @EmiratesFACup 3rd round match.
Rebecca will be in the middle for the tie between Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle on Saturday 8th January 2022.
Congratulations, Rebecca! 👏 #Aspire2Ref
— PGMOL (@FA_PGMOL) December 29, 2021
Breaking Boundaries
Welch has already been breaking boundaries as a female official in the men’s game when she became the first woman to officiate in the English Football League this year. The FA Cup is the world’s oldest national football tournament and the third round is when the Championship and Premier League teams enter the competition. Even though it is actually the third round of the FA Cup, it has for years often been referred to as the ‘First Round Proper’ being seen as the time when the competition really begins. The FA Cup in England was first played in 1871.
The game that Welch took charge of in the EFL was in April 2021 when Port Vale took on Harrogate Town in League Two. Welch is no stranger to the earlier rounds of the FA Cup having already taken charge of Barrow’s 4-0 victory over Banbury in the first round of the tournament.
Who is Rebecca Welch
Welch hails from Washington in Tyne and Wear and is now one of several female officials working in the men’s game including Premier League assistant Sian Massey-Ellis.
Welch has taken charge of a number of high-profile women’s internationals as well as the 2017 and 2020 finals of the women’s FA Cup and continues to trailblaze the path for women officials in men’s football.
The tie between Birmingham and Plymouth will take place on January 8, 2022, along with the other 31 games to take place between the 7th and 10th of January 2022.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
