To celebrate South Asian Heritage Month 2024, we are interviewing several referees and coaches from South Asian backgrounds across the grassroots game in West Riding.

Up next is Sufyaan Shafi, a West Riding FA Match Official from Dewsbury.

Tell us about how and why you got involved in refereeing?

I got into refereeing as I wanted to make some extra pocket money, and with my network of managers, I knew I’d be able to referee multiple games a weekend.

What level referee are you and where do you officiate?

I am going into my first season at L4 - officiating on the Northern Counties East Football League and Northern Premier League.

What do you enjoy about refereeing?

I’m at the stage where I referee for the love of the game more than anything. It allows me to partake a role in football at a higher level than I can play, whilst also offering me great opportunities along the journey to go as far as possible. I love the aspect of potentially making a full-time career out of football just through refereeing.

Who are your role models in refereeing?

Whilst I have many colleagues who are helping me along this journey, I don’t really have a role model as such. Hopefully one day I can be a role model to others.

What are your greatest achievements in refereeing and why?

One of my greatest achievements in refereeing is being selected to officiate at the Iber Cup in Portugal in 2023. This was a great experience refereeing some of the best academies from all continents of the world, whilst constantly being coached by ex and current professional officials. This enhanced my refereeing skills significantly as I could take all detailed feedback straight into my next game tomorrow, instead of having to wait a full week. Overall this was a great experience on and off the field.

What is your best memory of refereeing?

Refereeing at a Premier League Academy International Tournament is one of many great memories. Being surrounded by the best players in the world at this age and professional facilities was an unreal feeling. I had the opportunity to referee the opening game between Aston Villa and Bayern Munich.

It’s moments like this where people outside of refereeing can appreciate and measure how far you’ve come in this journey. Whilst most people don’t want to be involved in refereeing open age football, everyone wants to be a part of something like this!

What are your goals for the future?

My goals for the future are to go as high as possible in refereeing. I am young and have no intention of slowing down or setting a level for myself. The hard work has only just begun.

What are the biggest obstacles you have faced in refereeing and how you overcome them?

It is no secret all referees at some point come home after certain games and think “Why do I even bother doing this?”. Thankfully this community is full of great likeminded people who pick you right back up and have you feeling motivated before going again. Refereeing really is a role that has you at the highest of highs, but also the lowest of lows.

What advice would you give to people thinking about getting involved in refereeing?

For me personally, as someone who still plays the game at non-league academy level, I fully understand that refereeing looks like a ‘thankless job’ from the outside. I would think going into meetings everyone else here is just going to be older than me and maybe not friendly, however that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I have to say you quickly learn it is nothing of the sort. Plenty of referees you meet will have very similar personalities and attributes to you. You meet a whole new network of people; of which some become very close friends.