Referee Rebecca Welch will make history this weekend by becoming the first female referee to officiate a Swansea City first team game, when the Swans entertain Blackburn Rovers at the Swansea.com stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Although this will be Welch’s first Swansea City appearance, she has enjoyed a meteoric rise as a match official during the past 12 months.
From being the first female referee to oversee a Championship match in January, taking charge of the game between Birmingham City and Preston North End, to making her Premier League debut as a referee for the game between Fulham and Burnley in December.
Assisting referee Rebecca Welch for this historic game on Saturday will be Shaun Hudson and Alex James, with Lee Swabey the 4th Official for the game.
Rebecca Welch EFL Championship Record 2023/2024
This will be the Tyne and Wear official’s 9th Championship game of the season, during which she has handed out 39 yellow cards and 1 red card.
The Swans will be the third Welsh team to have Welch as referee, with both Newport and Cardiff having already had a game officiated by the 40 year old during the current campaign – which both teams lost incidentally.
It will be the first time that Welch has officiated a Swansea City or Blackburn Rovers game this season.