EMMY RAGGETT – FOOTBALL – PLAYER, REFEREE AND CAMPAIGNER FOR THE GIRLS’ GAME.

Team sport is a significant part of the lives of many of Richmond School’s students, both in PE lessons, practices and matches for school teams as well as participation in local, county and sometimes national squads.

Emmy Raggett, Year 10 student at Richmond School, is a fantastic example of this but she’s taken it one step further by recently becoming the first female FA qualified football referee from Richmondshire. She’s also applied to become a Barclays Game Changer – a high profile role that involves the support and promotion of girls’ football in schools.

We caught up with Emmy recently to ask her about her footballing journey and why on earth someone would want to become a referee!

So, Emmy, go back to the beginning – where did your love of football start?

E: I’ve always loved sport but football started when I was about four or five and my grandad gave me a Norwich kit. I just wanted to play! I joined Richmond Town girls’ team, but that soon folded because there were so few players. I played in a few boys’ teams but didn’t really enjoy it. Luckily Richmond Town started a girls’ team again – they haven’t stopped and have done really good things – I’ve played for them since then.

OK, what about your football now – what age group, what teams, what competitions?

E: I play in the U17 team at Richmond Town – a year above my age. We play in the North Riding League, playing teams from Middlesbrough and the Sunderland area. We’ve been really successful, winning many cup and league trophies over the past few years. We’re one of the best teams in the area, though there is a team called Boro Rangers. Most finals are us against them! I also play for Catterick Village Roses, who are a fairly new side but I am very excited to see where we go.

What about football at school? Football is very popular at Richmond School – how is girls’ football doing?

E: It’s definitely on its way up. We have teams across all the year groups, which is something we didn’t have in the past. Numbers are still quite low sometimes, so we need to push more. How? I think we need to work that out – that’s going to be part of my role as a Barclays Game Changer. I work quite closely with Ellen Atkinson, our Girls’ Football Development Coordinator. One of the issues is that we have quite a wide range of abilities. Even in Year 7 some students have played for years and others are just starting out. If we had more players it would make things easier from a coaching point of view.

Now, on to refereeing. Who on earth would want to be a football referee?!

E: That’s what everyone says!

Ever since I’ve watched football, especially Leeds matches with my dad, I’ve always noticed there aren’t any female officials. Why? I’m quite aware of issues in the world, particularly when it comes to equal opportunities and this just made me want to be a ref – from the age of seven or eight. It’s quite hard to get into – I’ve been on a waiting list for a long while..

So, you must have gained quite a bit of refereeing experience before the FA qualification you’ve recently obtained? How has the experience been?

E: Yes. I’m a ref for Richmond Town and referee games regularly – from U9 to U14s. I get comments from the players but mainly from the parents and coaches on the sidelines. It’s understandable. Most of them have never seen a female ref, so maybe they would doubt me. But I really enjoy being a referee for Richmond Town.

What’s your reaction to these comments – how do they make you feel?

E: Well, as the ref, I’m in charge! The players are only showing themselves up making comments and if it goes too far I can send them off. Lots of teams are bringing in sanctions systems now. If anyone says anything rude or disrespectful, it’s an automatic game ban. Those teams are much nicer to referee – Catterick Village is a good example.

So you can really feel the difference these sanction systems make?

E: Definitely. Players question the ref rather than blaming them. I can have a chat with players from these teams and explain my decisions, whereas with other teams it’s more of a battle.

Ok, so let’s move on to the course you did recently. Tell us a bit about that.

E: I was extremely nervous going into that room. I was the only girl and all the others were boys who were older than me, but not adults. It was intimidating but I really wanted this qualification and I just threw myself at it. Some people just sat at the back of the room and didn’t get involved at all – I think I passed very well.

Excellent! That’s exactly how to deal with a situation like that. Get yourself noticed!

How was the course structured – how long did it take?

E: There were three online modules which took ages, then this in-person training at Richmond School Pavillion which took two full days and an afternoon. There was some theory – the offside rule, how to card players properly, how to log fouls etc. Then there were the practical sessions – we spent almost half a day learning how to blow the whistle! We spent another half day learning all the different arm signals. Then there was assistant refereeing – I actually find that harder than refereeing, especially when calling offside – everyone looks at the assistant referee for an offside!

What about the assessment, how did that work?

E: It was continuous assessment, there wasn’t an exam. The instructors had been observing us all the way through. We were told whether we’d passed at the end – not everyone did. At the end we all played a game and took it in turns to referee. It was all boys and they were all older than me, but I felt really confident. I really felt ready to go out and ref games after that!

So, what about the future – what are your plans? Mrs. Carruthers mentioned that you maybe hadn’t had many really strong female role models – I guess that Rebecca Welch, the first female to referee a Premier League game might be one?

E: Yes, kind of, and I have thought about that. I’m not sure whether I want to take refereeing further, but if I do, I want to referee a Premier League game when I’m younger than she was!

I’d also like to get into coaching – there are very few female football coaches around at the moment.

I’d like to give the women’s game more of a push in school, like I mentioned before. But also we need to talk about it more and raise its profile. When the men’s World Cup was on some of the games were shown in classes but when I asked if we could watch the Lioness’s games at the Euros it was a no. In fact I didn’t hear our victory mentioned at all!

What about the longer term future?

E: I’m not sure about a career in sport, though I have been given some opportunities in the last few weeks. I’ve started to train with Richmond Town Ladies first team and train with Hartlepool United. I am also hoping to train / play with Spennymoor in the summer pre-season. These are all semi-professional teams playing in the highest league in the north – Spennymoor are top of this league.

And away from sport – how’s school going and what are your academic goals?

E: School’s going really well. I would eventually like to go into engineering or sustainable engineering. I’m going to an architect for my work experience so I can hopefully learn something from that. I’ve also thought about becoming a pilot. I’ve been lucky enough to travel quite a bit and can only remember seeing a female pilot once or twice.

Lots of possibilities! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us, Emmy. We wish you all the very best with your football, your refereeing, your role as a Barclays Game Changer and your studies and academic future. I’m sure we’ll be talking to you again soon to report on more of your progress and success.

To give a bit more background and context about Emmy’s sport at school, below is the application that Mrs Carruthers, Richmond School Games Oragniser and PE Teacher, submitted to apply for Emmy’s Barclays Game Changer role:

“Emmy has always been an ambassador for girls’ sport within the school. She strongly believes that her love for football contributes to her physical and mental well being and empowers her with valuable life skills, allowing her to create strong bonds within teams.

Emmy first joined a local football club at age five but it wasn’t until she turned eight that she got the opportunity to train with a local club. The club trained weekly and played in a local league but Emmy felt there was inequality in how the boys were treated in comparison to the girls. She feels that the girls’ team gradually gained respect through their work ethic and as a result started to see improvements. This has led to them winning league and cup competitions. 

Emmy is currently captain of her school team and a key player in her local league side and she has trained with Leeds United. She has also taken the opportunity to travel to Germany on a football scholarship to train with St Pauli.

Emmy recognised from a young age that she did not have many role models within football other than the players and has set herself the challenge of becoming a referee. She currently has her level 1 referee qualification and is gaining experience refereeing as many games as she can. She is also the first female referee in Richmondshire.

Emmy is a very influential, passionate ambassador of sport and has volunteered many hours in support of the School Games Organiser in which she has officiated, coached and led a number of different sports events. These include officiating a dodgeball tournament, coaching Year 1 and 2 pupils at a Disney themed football festival and managing hundreds of pupils at a cross country event keeping them safe and recording results accurately.”