New Zealand’s first female FIFA Assistant Referee to be appointed to a FIFA World Cup talks about breaking into a male dominated environment.

Jacqui Stephenson got into refereeing because she wanted a tracksuit.

As the wife of a referee in Wellington, she spent countless hours on the sideline at football games, taking her kids along to watch their dad referee.

In 2004, Capital Football received funding for new referee tracksuits, and Jacqui asked for one. No problem, she was told, become a referee and you can have one.

Jacqui headed to The Warehouse to buy turf boots, and jumped on a game as an assistant referee the same day.

She discovered that she loved being involved more than being on the sideline, and that she was good at it.

As Jacqui worked through her referee qualifications, she was quickly accelerated through the local leagues and up to the National League.

At the higher levels of the game, the qualifications and pathway are very different for the roles of assistant referee (also referred to as ‘AR', or 'linesman’), and referee (also called a ‘centre’ or ‘middle’).

Jacqui realised early on that she would like to go as far as she could – meaning FIFA Tournaments – and chose to follow the Assistant Referee pathway.

“You need two assistant referees to one referee. I decided the odds of getting to FIFA level would be higher if I followed the Assistant Referee path.”

She became a FIFA qualified Assistant Referee in 2007.

“For me the most challenging part was breaking into the game which was very male dominated. I had abuse directed at me because I was a woman. My skills and decisions were always brought into question, by spectators, players, coaches & even some of my peers.”

She says she isn’t one to back down from a challenge.

“I wanted to prove that I was good enough to be there. In doing so, I paved the way for other females to follow suit. I was the only women FIFA official in Oceania in 2007 & it wasn’t until 2013 that NZ had their 1st female international trio. [Anna-Marie Keighley, Nadia Browning and Jacqui Stephenson]

The FIFA qualification has led to overseas travel all over the globe, officiating in a range of tournaments.

2008 Peace Queen Cup – Suwon, Korea

Algarve Cup – Portugal 2009 – 2012

FIFA – U17 women’s world cup

2008 New Zealand

2010 Trinidad & Tobago

2012 Azerbaijan

FIFA – U20 women’s world cup - 2014 Canada

FIFA - women’s world cup - 2011 Germany

OFC Tournaments – Samoa, Fiji, Papua new Guinea, & New Zealand

Her first FIFA tournament was the U17 Women’s World Cup here in New Zealand in 2008. This one was extra special as it was in her hometown of Wellington, with her children as flagbearers and her then-husband part of the transport crew.

Jacqui says that staying FIFA qualified involved regular testing of fitness and game theory. She filled in spreadsheets each week detailing all training, along with physiological data like minimum and maximum heart rate, that would be sent through to FIFA trainers to analyse.

FIFA Women's World Cup, Germany 2011. Jacqui is on the right. 

She is proud to have stayed qualified for 10 years – injury forced her FIFA retirement in 2017.

Jacqui credits her refereeing journey with meeting amazing people and the lifelong friendships she’s made over the world.

While she retired as FIFA assistant referee, she didn’t retire from the game. She is still an active referee as well as now working to train new referees.

In 2023, she worked for FIFA during FIFA as a Women’s World Cup venue specific training site co-ordinator in Hamilton.

She is a WaiBOP Football Referee Assessor. This involves observing officials on the match, debriefing them after, and submitting written reports.

She’s been involved with a variety of coaching activities across the region, such as the  Wahine Toa programme, Aims Games & Weir Rose Bowl. She runs practical sessions giving girls insight into what officiating involves. She also assists youth officials as a Futsal Venue Coordinator in Hamilton in terms 1 & 4.

In 2024, she got involved in the Youth Referee Academy delivery in Hamilton.

Jacqui coaching at Wahine Toa, 2024.

“This was very satisfying to teach them in the classroom, run practical sessions & then see them developing those skills on the pitch while officiating. Getting them to be confident in front of their peers within the classroom environment not only assists on the pitch but in everyday situations.” She says.

She says that abuse towards officials is unfortunately still very much part of the game.

One phrase she uses when training referees is “Have big eyes and little ears”. She says learning to concentrate on watching the game and filtering out the comments is an important skill to learn.

She says working with officials at all levels of the game gives her great satisfaction.

“I am able to use my knowledge to assist them to grow & love the beautiful game as much as I did. It’s my time to give back & help others have the opportunity that I had.”

Her advice to young officials?

“Nothing should be taken for granted. With hard work & commitment you can achieve your goals. “

Article added: Tuesday 18 March 2025