Kent referee Kirsty Dowle to take charge of first Football League game: Doncaster v Morecambe

Referee Kirsty Dowle will take charge of a Football League game for the first time this weekend.

Kent official Dowle has been appointed to Doncaster’s League 2 clash at home to Morecambe.

It will be the 32-year-old’s first-ever Football League ‘middle’ although she has taken charge of three EFL Trophy games this season.

Dowle has also officiated six National League games this term, earning plenty of plaudits including an ovation from the crowd after the clash between Southend and Oxford City at Roots Hall.

She took charge of the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley in 2022 and the 2023 Women’s League Cup Final and is a regular on WSL matches - her most recent game was Sunday’s 4-0 win for Manchester United at Tottenham.

On Wednesday she was the fourth official for the Women’s Champions League match between Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt in Lisbon. That game was officiated by Rebecca Welch, who will make history later this month as the first female official to referee a game in the Premier League.

The previous week, Dowle was in charge of Kazakhstan versus Estonia in the Women’s Nations League.