Local match officials have been allocated a Sheffield & Hallamshire County Cup final appointment in recognition of their performance and commitment over the course of the season.

36 match officials were invited to attend a County Cup Final presentation evening last week, where the appointments were confirmed by Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA Referee Development Officer, Aaron Bannister. 

The event, which took place at SGP Westfield, was an opportunity for the selected match officials to discover which County Cup final they would be officiating, meet their colleagues and take part in a technical session with Premier League referee, Andy Madley.

Madley, an experienced referee who began his refereeing career in Wakefield and progressed through the ranks to become a Select Group 1 referee in June 2019, is perfectly placed to provide advice on how to manage a big occasion, having refereed over 60 Premier League games.

He highlighted the key differences between officiating a league game and a cup final, encouraging the ambitious referees to enjoy and savour the big occasion.

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Premier League referee Andy Madley delivers a technical session to match officials

Ramu Raju, a sports journalism graduate from Sheffield Hallam University, caught up with some of the chosen match officials at the event to discuss their appointments. 

Gareth Thomas, the person selected to referee the highly anticipated Senior cup final between Emley AFC and Maltby Main, felt that his appointment was a result of his dedication, commitment, and the support that he received from County FA. 

Gareth said: “It’s always good to have a strong support network that you can turn to when you have setbacks. It can be with referees and people in and around the County. They do pick you back up when you are at the bottom.”

Danish Khan, a 38-year-old Asian referee, wants to motivate others from different backgrounds to get into refereeing. Danish has been appointed as an assistant referee for the Saturday Association Cup final, and he has aspirations to keep progressing in his referee journey.

Laura Gilmore expressed her joy at being chosen to referee the U16 Girl’s County Cup final.

“It’s a complete surprise. I’m super excited to be leading a team with two young assistants and a fourth official for what I believe will be a team effort. The hard work has paid off for everyone,” said Laura. 

The youngest referee selected is 16-year-old Jake Rhodes who felt that he was duly rewarded for his efforts throughout the season after being confirmed as the match official for the U13s Boy’s County Cup final.

“It is a nice accolade to receive towards the end of the season. No matter how old or young you are, everyone can have a good year”, said Jake whose dream is to referee Premier League and European games one day.

Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Interim-Chair, Brian Coddington, was at the presentation evening and believes the event will help increase the confidence of the match officials before the Cup finals, encouraging the referees to manage the occasion by utilising their assistant referees and the fourth official. Brian is a retired referee with over 30 seasons to his name, having been the assistant referee for the League Cup Final between Aston Villa and Leeds United in 1996. 

Brian joined Aaron Bannister and Referee Appointment Officer, Russ Lagden, to form the panel responsible for appointing match officials to Sheffield & Hallamshire County Cup finals.  

The full list of 2022/23 County Cup final match official appointments can be viewed below. Congratulations and the best of luck to all match officials at the County Cup finals from everyone at Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA.