Football Tasmania offers free female-only referee course

Matthew Badrov26/08/2022 5:55 am26/08/2022

Image provided by Football Tasmania

Football Tasmania is providing opportunities for women and girls to try their hand at refereeing by putting on a free course to help them gain the accreditation needed to officiate in matches.

The Level 4 Course, which is open to females aged 13 and over, is aimed at new and beginner referees and prepares match officials to officiate junior and youth matches.

The program, which runs over three days this weekend at KGV, consists of theory modules, practical sessions and practical mentoring in matches as a referee and assistant referee.

Tasmanian referee Claire Green, who has been reselected to the A-League Women’s panel for the upcoming season, encouraged all Tasmanian women, whether they are currently involved in the sport or not, to consider giving refereeing a try.

“Refereeing is a great way to stay fit, earn money, make lifelong friends and learn some valuable life skills,” Green said via Football Tasmania..

“I hope to see many more girls becoming referees in the next few years. More and more opportunities are arising as the footballing world acknowledges our talent and potential.”

Football Tasmania CEO Matt Bulkeley added there was a commitment to see more women and girls in leadership roles in football – including as referees.

“It’s been fantastic to see the growth of women and girls taking up the whistle over the past few years, which has risen in line with female player participation,” Bulkeley said via Football Tasmania.

“Tasmania is lucky to have some high achieving female referees who shown just how far you can go in the sport, with Lauren Hargreave appointed to FIFA’s international panel, and Claire Green and Lucy Nothrop joining Lauren on the A-League women’s panel.

“We’re always on the lookout for more referees, and we’d love to see more females join our ranks at the grassroots level and see where refereeing takes them.”

The free female referee course takes place over three sessions at KGV in August (days and times below).

Friday 26th from 6pm until 9pm
Sunday 28th from 9am until 5pm
Wednesday 31st from 6pm until 9pm

To register for the course, click here, or contact refereemgr@footballfedtas.com.au for more information.

Previous ArticleCon Boutsianis: “The nation is not going to get better by just playing more games”Next ArticleJames Johnson to continue as Football Australia CEO until 2024

Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

Declan Chan15/04/2026 6:15 am14/04/2026

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

Patrick Irving15/04/2026 6:05 am14/04/2026

Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.