On episode five of the second series of Humans of Chelmsford, we meet 18-year-old football referee Chloe Butler.
As one of the Essex FA’s female officials Chloe has an important role to play in the sport with women’s football on the up.
Traditionally football has been a man’s world and, despite the female game taking enormous strides in recent years, there are still some who believe women have no part to play in the game.
But that’s not stopping Chloe who is taking on these hurdles first hand.
Being a referee is hard enough when you have to take into account the abuse you might get.
But when you combine that with social media abuse and prehistoric views on the sidelines it gets that much harder.
In a key year for women’s football, with the 2019 World Cup beginning in June, Chloe knows she has a role to play in promoting the sport she loves.
She also knows that if she is seen to be doing, more girls might just want to be like her in the long run.
Brought to you by Essex Live, Humans of Chelmsford is a podcast about inspiring people with incredible tales from across the city.
Each show we uncover the stories you never knew existed about fellow Chelmsford residents and their lives.
Music in this episode is from Broke For Free.
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