Rebecca Welch's appointment as the Premier League's first female referee is a GIANT stride forward for the top flight... she could not have imagined becoming a trailblazer when officiating in the Wearside League

Rebecca Welch cannot have imagined in her wildest dreams that she would some day become a trailblazer.

Not when she was juggling refereeing while working for the NHS. Not when she was spending her Sundays on boggy pitches in Sunderland. Not when running the line for Coxhoe Athletic versus Redcar Athletic in the Wearside League.

Yet a week on Saturday, what was once a hobby will form a part of Premier League history when she becomes the first woman to referee a game in the most demanding division in world football.

She will take charge of Fulham against Burnley at Craven Cottage and those who know the 40-year-old from Washington in Tyne and Wear were unanimous on Thursday that ‘Becs’ deserves this opportunity after years of working her way from the bottom to the top of the men’s game.

She played football as a youngster and studied to be a referee with Durham County FA. Welch left the NHS in 2019 to throw herself into full-time refereeing and this landmark is vindication of her taking that plunge.

‘I got into refereeing through a good friend who did it but I never really understood why anyone would want to take that route,’ she said when becoming the first female referee in the EFL, by overseeing Harrogate Town against Port Vale in League Two in 2021.

It was only then that Welch started to believe that she might be an inspiration who had little girls looking up to her in awe.

‘I am extremely proud and my family’s extremely proud as well,’ she said at the time.

One person who knows Welch described her on Thursday as ‘super fit', saying that has been a priority of hers as she progressed through the pyramid from the National League to the Championship. She soon realised that the higher the level you officiate, the greater the necessity to keep up with the game, unless you want to be left behind.

She has refereed in the Women’s Super League, Women’s FA Cup finals at Wembley Stadium, and the Women’s Euro 2022 and 2023 Women’s World Cup also. But when overseeing men’s matches, abuse from fans has been a factor that she has had to deal with.

As recently as two weeks ago, two teenagers were arrested for allegedly aiming misogynistic chants towards her during Birmingham’s Championship game against Sheffield Wednesday at St Andrew’s. Yet Welch has a thick skin, believing that the morons are in the minority.

The Premier League lost a remarkable wealth of experience following the retirements of Mike Dean, Lee Mason, Jon Moss, Andre Mariner and others. New blood is needed, and Welch impressed the evaluators at the referees body PGMOL enough to earn this chance, plus a match fee expected to be about £1,500.

Referees chief Howard Webb has been keen to improve inclusion in the Premier League for some time and he is married to Bibiana Steinhaus, the former referee who is in charge of officiating in the Women’s Super League and second tier.

Webb said on a conference call with Mail Sport: ‘She (Welch) was the fourth official a few weeks ago for the first time (Fulham versus Manchester United) and we have lots of talented female officials working in the game.

‘We have Kirsty Doyle taking charge of her first EFL game this weekend at Doncaster Rovers against Morecambe and she’s another FIFA-registered official.

‘I hope that other people will see the success of these female officials, young girls and young women, and think that refereeing might be for them.’

Sam Allison is also set to become the first black referee to take charge of a Premier League game since Uriah Rennie in 2008, when he oversees Sheffield United against Luton on Boxing Day.

Webb added: ‘I expect there will be other opportunities for them (Welch and Allison). We’re putting them into these games with a view to their progression, their development. Rebecca and Sam deserve this opportunity.’

History will be made when Welch walks out at Craven Cottage but there will be no resting on laurels after her Premier League bow. She will hope this is only the beginning of a bright new chapter for her and the world’s best league.