Elisa's adventure with Europe's top referees

How do referees prepare for life at the very top of European football?

That's a question 23-year-old Elisa Daupeux can now answer after her experience at our winter course for elite match officials, which brings together Europe's best male and female referees to sharpen their minds and bodies for the second half of the campaign.

Elisa is one of France's most promising young referees, recently stepping up to officiate in France's D1 Arkema Première Ligue, the country's top women's division, and is an assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) for men's Ligue 1 matches.

However, coming face to face with some of your role models, who are at the peak of their profession, can be an altogether more daunting experience than taking the whistle in front of thousands of fans.

A warm welcome to the winter course

"I was very happy and also a little bit stressed because it's a new thing for me, but it was a wonderful experience," said Elisa, who has been refereeing matches since she was 13.

"It's very professional but I was happy with the welcome and the kindness from people. It was good for me to meet the elite referees and participate with them on the technical topics, which was very interesting."

EURO 2024 final referee François Letexier is put through his pacesUEFA via Getty Images

Over the three-day course, Elisa discussed important technical details with her colleagues, which included her compatriots François Letexier and Stéphanie Frappart, as well as taking a fitness test that all officials must pass.

"It was a pleasure to have Elisa with us at the referee course in Athens," said Roberto Rosetti, UEFA managing director for refereeing. "She is very young and motivated and demonstrated a high level of knowledge of the laws of the game, as well as fitness. This is also testament to the great work the French Football Federation (FFF) are doing in fostering the next generation of female match officials."

A time for focus

With UEFA Women's EURO 2025 approaching, the course represented a significant milestone in the officials' preparations, with only a select few to be on duty in Switzerland in July.

"The winter course was a big moment for getting ready for the Women's EURO," Rosetti said. "The refs are super motivated and have shown amazing improvement in their physical preparation in recent years. Top football needs athletes on the pitch and they have worked really hard. They also need to be role models for thousands of young female refs across Europe. As referees, only with obsessive dedication and focus on our goals can we finally be satisfied."

Europe's elite group of female refereesUEFA via Getty Images

Rosetti's rallying cry will be heard loud and clear, not least by Elisa, whose ambitions are clear: to get to the top.

"I have a lot of work to do, to have good games in France, so it is step by step, but I was very happy to be here and meet all the professionals," she said. "It was a very good experience, there was a very nice welcome and it's very good for me to feel comfortable here."

Be a Referee! Europe's campaign to attract more officials

European football needs more referees at all levels, and last season UEFA launched the 'Be a Referee!' campaign, which alongside our 55 member national associations aims to recruit thousands of new officials, while ensuring qualified referees stay active within the game.

"While we’re very pleased about recruitment numbers across Europe and continue to see on average an increase of about 20,000 new referees signing up each season, we’re still far from our overall goal, which is to pass 300,000 active referees in Europe," Rosetti explained.

"Once this level is reached we must continue working with the national associations for the active number to stay there, in order to be able to cover a growing number of matches across the continent."