As NAIDOC Week celebrations took place across the state last week, Football Queensland spoke with match official Alec Brown, a proud Gubbi Gubbi man who is sharing his Indigenous culture with the football community through his involvement both on and off the pitch.
A long-time supporter of football but with no experience as a player himself, Brown’s refereeing journey began just last year while watching his fiancé’s little brother playing for Wynnum Wolves FC.
Putting his hand up to help out when the club needed someone to run the line, Brown was asked to step in again the following week. He credits Wynnum Wolves with kick-starting his passion for refereeing, noting he is “forever grateful” for the opportunities they gave him to become a match official.
“I was just helping out as a fan, as a supporter of one of the boys and now here I am,” he said.
“I’ve never, ever played the game of football, I just love the sport; I love watching it, love watching a live game and growing up I actually played rugby league and basketball.
“So as a referee seeing it from a different perspective to current players or ex-players and others currently involved in the game, for me it’s a different view on it than anyone else I suppose because I’ve never played.”
Despite having never played, Brown’s progression through the ranks as a referee has been swift, completing both his Level 4 and Level 3 courses within the one year.
After starting out officiating at community level, he is now a regular presence at NPL Men’s and Women’s matches as Assistant Referee, also gaining experience running the line in the Australia Cup Preliminary Stages and the recent Kappa Women’s Super Cup Quarter Final.
“As soon as I was able to get my Level 3 I went for it straight away, passed that, had a field test and I’m now a qualified Level 3 referee so it’s all happening really quick,” Brown said.
“When refereeing the boys and girls who are still learning the game you’ve got to adapt to, not just finding those foul recognitions, but you want to be able to teach them while they’re out there as well so they know what to look out for as they’re growing up and progressing through the ranks.
“Then the sudden change of then doing the Senior Men’s or the Senior Women’s where they’ve done all that before, now you have to govern the game a little bit differently.
“You don’t need to teach them how to play the game or relay that information after a foul because they know what they’re doing, however you’ve just got to position yourself well and interpret the laws and be there just to referee the game.
“Once you get to that higher level you just have to be on the ball all the time, you have to be alert to anything and everything because these guys are trained and coached by the best.
“The intensity and the speed of the game is much more evident than in community football.”
In addition to officiating league matches, Brown has also gained experience as a referee at the First Nations Cup and Sunshine Coast Indigenous Festival of Football events last year.
“My mum is Indigenous and growing up that has been something that I’ve been proud of and I’ve wanted to keep that family name going and make my mum proud,” he said.
“It’s really special for me not just for my people to showcase their football [at these events] but to be a referee there as well, so it’s really nice and something I’m really stoked about every time it happens and a real privilege.
“It’s probably more of a privilege than anything for me. In that moment we’re all there to showcase the best of what we have to offer, whether that’s the players or the referees out there then to me that’s just a little bit more special than getting appointed to a standard fixture.
“I’m always excited to referee, but it’s just that extra little bit of I’m there to share that experience with other Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders. It automatically gets me really excited and I couldn’t wait to get out there and officiate because I know what talent is out there so to be a part of it is something very special.”
With many clubs celebrating NAIDOC Week as part of Indigenous Round over the weekend, Brown was looking forward to joining these other members of the football community in their club celebrations.
“As soon as I’m finished with officiating my games I’m straight out to the nearest club that has been showcased via the FQ website or their own page saying come down, we’ve got a Welcome to Country, closing ceremony.
“So I automatically get drawn to that and think ok I’m going to support whichever club is on at that time when I’m done, whether it’s down the road or a bit of a drive it doesn’t matter because I want to go down there and see what they’re showcasing for this event.”
While he may just be a couple of years into his refereeing career, Brown has ambitions to take his officiating as far as he can and proudly represent his Indigenous culture while doing so.
“My ultimate goal is to become the first Indigenous referee on the FIFA Panel. It’s a goal I’m going for and I think it’s definitely achievable if I do all the right things and train hard and keep learning,” he said.
“That would be the ultimate for me and my family, is to achieve that goal as the first Indigenous male referee to get onto the panel and onto the big stage.”