Fifa-listed referee Cheryl Foster leads an all-female quartet of match officials who will take charge of Saturday’s Huws Gray Alliance Cup final at Ruthin Town (May 5, 2.30pm).
Former Wales and Liverpool player Foster and her fellow officials will make history by setting a first for the men’s game in Wales.
Foster, nicknamed ‘Fozzy’ by friends and teammates, is part of a female team of officials who are on duty for the Gresford Athletic v Flint Town United final.
The Bangor-born Foster, a PE teacher at a school in Chester, has been refereeing for five years.
Gresford Athletic FC action.She was in the middle for the 2016 FAW Women’s Welsh Cup final and now regularly referees men’s matches in the Alliance and runs the lines at Welsh Premier level.
Foster is delighted to be appointed for the cup final and says: “It’s massive for the game in Wales, a bit of a landmark for all four of us.”
She won 63 senior Welsh caps and played club football for Conwy, Bangor City, Liverpool and Doncaster Belles.
“When I finished playing there was a huge gap in my life in terms of football,” said Foster. “My journey to becoming a referee started with a simple question, saying ‘Have you ever thought about refereeing?’
“I hadn’t, but then I did. I didn’t think things would move so fast that I’d be a Fifa referee by my third season.
“It’s been a steep learning curve and an amazing challenge.
“Playing for Wales was always a huge honour for both myself and my family – so to reach international standard as a referee was just as special and I am excited. I see it as representing my country just as I did as a player.
“I have received so much support from the North East Wales Referee Association so I want to thank them for always believing that I could get to this point. “
The two finalists, Gresford and Flint, defeated Holyhead Hotspur and Llandudno Junction respectively in their semi-finals.
Gresford led 3-0 at half-time against Junction three with goals from Jack Chaloner, Mile Latham and Jack Eyre. They added five more after half-time with Eyre completing his hat-trick, while Latham added his second.
Max Peate and Owen Roberts also scored in a 8-2 win.
Flint took a fifth minute lead at Holyhead through Ali Sheriff and Andy Brown made it 2-0. A last minute goal by Morgan Jones completed a 3-0 win and put United through to their third successive final.
In the Alliance, Denbigh Town clinched runners-up spot with a 3-2 win at Holywell Town.
Shaun Tuck gave Holywell a 14th minute lead which they held until just before half-time when Denbigh equalised through Danny Sullivan.
Kristian Pearce fired Denbigh in front from a penalty, but Holywell levelled the score at 2-2 when Tuck netted his second.
The winning goal came after 74 minutes when Matt Worrall fired Denbigh’s third to secure their highest ever league placing in the Welsh pyramid.
Alliance champions Caernarfon Town were presented with the championship trophy by League chairman Bob Paton.
Caernarfon have earned promotion to the JD Welsh Premier League and signed off in the Alliance with a 2-2 draw against Gresford Athletic.
Captain Nathan Craig fired Caernarfon ahead after eight minutes when his free-kick flew into a top corner, while Gresford equalised halfway through the first half when Jake Eyre fired home from the edge of the penalty area.
Gresford started the second half on the front foot and went ahead from a well struck Jack Chaloner shot.
The champions fought back to equalise through top scorer Jamie Breese, who took his Alliance goals tally for the season to 22.
Alliance fixtures:
Saturday 5: Caersws v Llandudno Junction (2.30pm), Penrhyncoch v Holywell Town (2.30pm).
Monday 7: Caersws v Ruthin Town (2.30pm), FC Queens Park v Penrhyncoch (2.30pm), Porthmadog v Flint Town United (2.30pm).
Saturday 12: FC Queens Park v Llandudno Junction (2.30pm), Porthmadog v Holywell Town (2.30pm).
HUWS GRAY ALLIANCE 2017-18
| Rank | Teams | Pd | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Caernarfon Town | 28 | 19 | 8 | 1 | 98 | 31 | 67 | 65 |
| 2 | Denbigh Town | 28 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 69 | 43 | 26 | 60 |
| 3 | Airbus Broughton | 28 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 67 | 42 | 25 | 54 |
| 4 | Guilsfield | 28 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 54 | 38 | 16 | 53 |
| 5 | Holywell Town | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 74 | 35 | 39 | 49 |
| 6 | Rhyl | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 62 | 45 | 17 | 47 |
| 7 | Porthmadog | 26 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 68 | 44 | 24 | 42 |
| 8 | Gresford Athletic | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 39 |
| 9 | Flint Town United | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 48 | 41 | 7 | 35 |
| 10 | Ruthin Town | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 51 | 48 | 3 | 35 |
| 11 | Penrhyncoch | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 39 | 45 | -6 | 33 |
| 12 | Holyhead Hotspur | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 40 | 57 | -17 | 30 |
| 13 | Caersws | 26 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 34 | 71 | -37 | 12 |
| 14 | FC Queens Park | 26 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 23 | 102 | -79 | 9 |
| 15 | Llandudno Junction | 26 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 24 | 109 | -85 | 4 |
