On May 6, a passionate 7th round of the China B League came to an end, with Seaport B defeating Quanzhou Yaxin 2-1, and the focus of the match was none other than referee Tian Jin. As the first female referee to referee a men's professional soccer match in China, Tian Jin revealed her desire for World Cup matches in an interview.
Born in 1993, Tian Jin is not only a physical education teacher at Zhejiang University, but also a soccer coach. 2012, she entered the ranks of national referees, and last year, she became China's second "90s" women's international soccer referee, who refereed important matches such as the College Soccer World Cup and the Asian Football Confederation's U17 Women's Soccer Asian Cup Qualifying Tournament. She has refereed the University Football World Cup, the Asian Football Confederation U17 Women's Football Asian Cup Qualification Tournament and other important events.
Tian Jin's story began in Wuhan, where she graduated from the Wuhan Sports Institute. She recalls, "I was selected for the regional soccer team on my first day of middle school because of my outstanding height and athletic performance. At first I was a striker, then switched to goalkeeper." However, an injury during college caused her to miss out on the professional game, and she was left to spend her free time sparring with old friends.
"In the last Women's World Cup, I was not qualified to referee, so I hope I can stand on the international stage next time." Tian Jin's words show his expectations for the future.
It is worth mentioning that national-level female referee Dai Bingyue served as the fourth official in this match, and her presence highlights the rise of Chinese women in the field of soccer refereeing. Dai Bingyue, born in 1995, was a member of the women's youth soccer national team and transitioned to soccer refereeing in 2016, refereeing many major events such as the National Games and Youth Games.
During pre-match training, both Tian Jin and Dai Bingyue successfully passed the men's standardized fitness test, qualifying them to play in higher level men's professional leagues. This historic refereeing arrangement marks an important step forward in gender equality and refereeing diversity for the CFA.
In fact, the CFA has already tried to let female referees Xie Lijun and Dong Fangyu serve as assistant referees and video assistant referees respectively, and successfully officiated four matches. This year, the CFA has launched a new initiative to let outstanding female referees referee men's professional matches, aiming to provide a platform for more female referees to display and improve.
