Football Queensland (FQ) is excited to announce Henrik Flynn and Stephan Weitkus as the Referees of the Tournament from the recent FQ Community Cup held in Cairns.

Both boys impressed referee coaches and mentors at the state-wide tournament earlier this month, resulting in them being chosen to officiate the final.

In their second year of refereeing, both match officials recognised that the FQ Community Cup provided them with valuable experience and opportunity to develop their knowledge of the game.

“I was refereeing two games a day and got access to great mentoring and advice. I learnt so much throughout the week,” said Flynn.

Weitkus agreed, adding that experienced match officials in attendance as mentors was a highlight of the week.

“I think it’s a big help. Especially at this tournament there’s a lot of experienced refs like Alex King and Anton,” Weitkus said.

The week also provided a plethora of new experiences for both of the young referees, including Flynn who had previously only officiated at an under 12’s tournament.

“I enjoyed the whole week, I’ve never done anything like it before,” Flynn said.

Fellow Referee of the Tournament Weitkus also experienced a number of firsts at the tournament.

“My favourite moment had to be giving a red card to one of the under 16 players,” Weitkus said.

“It was my first red card I had ever given…it was an awesome experience.”

FQ would like to extend a big congratulations to both Henrik and Stephan for being chosen as the FQ Community Cup Referees of the Tournament.

Honourable mention goes to all referees chosen to referee the finals including Hannah Roughley (U16 Girls), Liam Mulhern (U14 Boys), Nicholas Dogao (U13/14 Girls) and Paula Malau-Aduli (U13 Boys).

Photo credit: Callum Rashleigh