Drahşan Arda (born 1945) is a Turkish former association football referee. She was confirmed as the world's first female football referee by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Early life

A native of Edirne, she played basketball and volleyball during her high school years. She then developed an interest for football. She became a schoolteacher by profession. Arda obtained her referee certificate after completing a referee training held by Tarık Yamaç in Zonguldak Province, Turkey between 5–26 November 1967.

Referee career

She debuted as an

assistant referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...

during a regional league match between Karabük Demirçelik and Jandarmagücü. She then was promoted to the role of a referee. She was mostly in charge in friendly matches. She officiated her first match on 26 June 1968. It was a show match between the teams of jockeys against the actors that took place before the jubilee match for

Ahmet Berman Ahmet Berman (1 January 1932 - 17 December 1980) was a Turkish footballer who played for Turkey in the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Beşiktaş and Galatasaray. He died on December 17, 1980, and was laid to rest at the Feriköy Cemete ...

at the

Mithatpaşa Stadium Mithatpaşa is a Turkish name, and may refer to * Mithat Pasha, Ottoman Pasha * Mithatpaşa Avenue, Ankara * Mithatpasa railway station, Sakarya Province * Mithatpaşa Stadium, former name of BJK İnönü Stadium İnönü Stadium ( tr, İn� ...

in Istanbul. In 1972, she moved to Munich, Germany. She worked in Bavaria as a schoolteacher, and helped many children start with sport. She continued to officiate football games. She served mostly in classification matches, which were played with a single referee. She developed a relationship with

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...

Awards and retirement

She was awarded a golden badge and a plaque by the Bayerischer Fussball-Verband (BFV) for her 30 years of refereeing activity. After her application with documented evidence,

confirmed with a letter dated 13 December 2018 that Arda is the world's first female football referee. In 1997, she retired from active sport life after 30 years. She put all her refereeing materials up for auction for the benefit of poor children. Afterwards, she served on the Disciplinary Board of the BFV for seven years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arda, Drahsan 1945 births Living people Sportspeople from Edirne Turkish schoolteachers Turkish sportswomen Turkish football referees Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Germany German schoolteachers German football referees Women association football referees