Essex referee Broghan Kelly hopes the International Women's Day Festival she was invited to officiate on in the Isle of Man will “encourage female playing participation” in future seasons, whilst also reflecting on her own match official progress.

Broghan was invited by The FA to attend the festival on the Isle of Man on Thursday 7th March, the day before International Women's Day, in which she was part of the team to officiate the evening's showcase match, an international women's senior team internal friendly at the Bowl Stadium.

She explained: “I found this to be a really great experience. I was proud to represent the Essex County FA and be a part of an all-female officials team. The team coming over to the island really demonstrates to the girls the opportunities that are available within officiating. We spoke to a few girls and, hopefully, we've inspired them to pick up a whistle and give it a go.”

“We were well looked after by Referees Society president Mark Thomas, and both Lewis Qualtrough and Simon Elson at the Isle of Man FA. It's superb to see the work that they are doing to encourage female playing participation by building a strong grassroots foundation, but also with an eye on increasing female officiating.”

Broghan is additionally excited about the potential for her own path in refereeing: “I'm really grateful and thankful for the support I've received from Essex's Referees Department and the opportunities that the ETP [Emerging Talent Programme] has given me. There's never been a better time to get involved in women's refereeing and I'm looking forward to seeing where my journey takes me.”

Essex County FA Referee Development Manager, Lukas Wood, paid tribute to Brogan’s enthusiasm and progressive approach: “Broghan is developing extremely well as a referee. She was promoted to 3W Women’s National Referee status at the end of Q2 and is currently on the Level 7 to 6 Referee Progression Pathway. She has also been appointed as one of the assistant referees for the BBC Essex Women’s Cup Final at Colchester United FC.”

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