Tess Olofsson is one of the top female officials in Europe and officiates professionally in the men's second tier in Sweden. A former Sweden youth international goalkeeper, Tess Olofsson transitioned to full-time refereeing following injury, having combined both roles since first taking up the whistle at 13. Now, she is a professional official in in Sweden's second division of men's football, the country's Referee of the Year and a regular in the UEFA Women's Champions League and international fixtures.
- You are fortunate to have had role models to emulate throughout your career.
- In Sweden, we are lucky to have had high-profile female players and successful teams, to make it feel like a career is achievable. I had many different role models, as a player especially the goalkeepers. I had Caroline Jönsson, she was the Swedish national team goalkeeper, but also Andreas Isaksson from the men's team was an inspiration because I watched a lot of football when I was young. As a referee, it was inspiring to see Bibiana Steinhaus, the first female referee in the Bundesliga in 2017, and then we saw Stéphanie Frappart in the UEFA Super Cup, another big step for women's football and female referees. It is great to see a pathway, and my goal now is to reach the highest level of the men's game in Sweden, referee International men's games, and also be a part of the UEFA Women's EURO next year and the Women's World Cup in 2023
- Does it feel as though you have had to work extra hard to prove yourself in the men's game?
- When I go to training sessions and train together with the men, you want to show them that you are as fast as them. But it's not possible for me to be as quick as them, so of course I need to work hard in every training session to be at the right level. On the pitch, it's important you can read the game, time your sprints and position yourself well, because if I start too late then maybe I will be too far away when I need to make the decision. With players, if I referee new teams, they sometimes try me in the first games, but then after a while they can see that I know and understand football just as well - I think they are surprised at the beginning. But then they accept me and respect me as a referee and see that it doesn’t matter if I'm a woman or a man.
- What is your advice to anybody interested in following a similar path as a referee?
- You have to put in so much effort, train really, really hard, and push yourself to the limit. When I became a FIFA referee, I realised how much I need to train, but also to stay healthy to avoid injuries. I hope that seeing people like me succeed can inspire young girls and boys to start because it's a really great experience to be a referee. I have the chance to be full-time professional and I hope more women will get this opportunity.
Source: UEFA