Official Kicks: Cheryl Foster

Cheryl Foster stopped playing for Doncaster Belles in the WSL in the summer of 2012 and took the referees’ course, unsure whether to carry on playing or coach; starting in January 2013 effectively retired her. She won 63 Wales caps after a debut at seventeen and played for Bangor City and Liverpool. She now referees in the Cymru Alliance and the Welsh Women’s Premier League, runs the line in the men’s Welsh Premier League, and became a FIFA referee in January 2016, officiating a UEFA Under-17 tournament in Italy and the Champions League group phase in Cardiff. Refereeing, she says, is like being a box-to-box midfielder, and she is fitter now than as a player.