FFW2022 Ref Spotlight: Clare Lawrence taking control on and off the football field.

Clare Lawrence is leading the way in North West Sydney Football as a referee, volunteer, coach, and player. 

Clare is a distinguished member of the NWSF Womens World Cup 2023 & Beyond Working Party. You've likely seen her around the ground as she focuses on growing female participation- in particular referees!

Clare does it all - and she does it well! She has played for 16 years, Refereed for 12 years and Coached for 10 years across summer & winter competitions. On top of that she has been a member of the Macquarie Dragons committee for 6 years and in 2022 took on the role as Chairperson of the North West Sydney Football Referees Association (NWSFRA) Appointment Committee. The first female ever in this role!

As a referee, Clare has been the featured centre ref of many Premier League and Super League matches, as well as multiple Grand Final appointments - an achievement in refereeing that recognises committed, skilled and experienced referees. After refereeing for more than 12 years, she has taken on the role as Chair of the Appointments Committee in 2022. This means, she leads the team responsible for ensuring a referee is appointed to each and every game within NWSF across the weekend. Clare and the NWSFRA appointments committee help our area maintain 90% coverage of all matches in NWSF- this is one of the highest rates of coverage across NSW.  

​As a coach, Clare has coached various female teams for Macquarie Dragons Football Club and this year coaches the Under 9 Girls. She also completed her advanced coaching C-Licence in 2020. 

As a player, Clare features in the Inaugural NWSF Women's Premier League for North Epping Rangers. She captained NER through their Beryl Ackroyd Cup Final Match - catch the highlights here.  Clare follows Sydney FC in the A League Women's and travelled to France for the 2019 Women’s World Cup to support the Matilda's.

Thank you for all the work you do, you inspire our Women & Girls on and off the field. Well done on being the best ambassador for female football in NWSF and beyond - we couldn't think of a better role model! Keep it up!