At last week’s Annual Congress in Auckland, the late Stephen Fletcher was made a Life Member of New Zealand Football.

Fletcher, who passed away last month, was a respected referee and popular member of the Auckland football community.

The Northern Football Federation (NFF) Life Member and former Auckland Football Federation (AFF) referee had been an integral part of the Auckland Referee Community for several decades.

He held many positions within the NRFL, the NFF Referee Advisory Group as well as stepping in as the NFF Referee Development Officer.

Ken Wallace, the NZ Football Referee Development Manager, said the Life Membership was a fitting tribute to Fletcher who gave so much to the game.

“Steve was a great guy who was always prepared to put himself out to help others,” said Wallace. “He would have really appreciated this acknowledgement.  This Life Membership is thoroughly deserved, and we hope his friends and family are pleased to see this recognition of what he has done for football in this country.” 

Wallace said Fletcher spent countless hours travelling, organising, coaching and testing referees as well as refereeing himself.

“As a former top player he had a good understanding of the game and was able to communicate well with players as long as they didn’t cross his line,” he said.   “As someone who got onto the national league panel quite late in his refereeing life he was an inspiration to those many referees plugging away on local fields he in their forties. He was an ethical person, who was always ready to give his opinion.”

Three years ago the Northern Football Federation gave Fletcher, a long-serving member of the football community, a life membership at the 2016 AGM.

Following the establishment of the New Zealand Football Federations in 2000, Fletcher and fellow life member Rudi Hoffmann established the Northern Football Referee Group. He went on to not only referee at least one match each week, but also provided coaching and assessment to other referees throughout the 16 seasons.

Back in 2016, Fletcher was humbled by the recognition from NFF.

“I have enjoyed being part of the NFF referee community immensely. Over the years we have tried a lot of things to be different, to do things better that before,” he said.  "To see the new younger blood coming through learning from the experience of the older referees means we are providing a high quality service to the federation.

“For the young fellas, push on, there is plenty of opportunity. For the older fellas, you still play an important part in the game and in helping the new referee’s learn."

Article added: Friday 12 April 2019