Football SA Match Official Eric Ford Sestili will referee his 100th RAA National Premier Leagues SA Senior Grade match this weekend when he takes charge of South Adelaide’s clash with West Adelaide on Saturday afternoon.
He will become only the seventh Match Official to reach a century of RAA NPL SA matches refereed, joining David Alberton (2017), Gary Mooney & Christian Verdicchio (2018), Daniel Goodwin (2020), Daniel Elder (2021) and Daniel Cook (2022).
Having made his Senior Grade debut in 2011, Eric has subsequently refereed 241 Senior Men's matches across League & Cup competitions, as well as 12 Senior Women's matches. He made his First Division debut in the inaugural season of the NPL SA competition back in 2013.
Eric also acts as an Assistant Referee in the top division, with 36 appearances flag in hand in the RAA NPL SA competition since its inception in 2013. Eric has featured in one RAA NPL SA Grand Final as an Assistant Referee (2017), in addition to two Federation Cup Finals (2012, 2016) and three State League 1 deciders (2014, 2021 as Fourth Official, 2022).
When asked to reflect on reaching this milestone, Eric said:
“It is a great honour and I am very thankful for the opportunities that refereeing has given me.”
Football SA State Referees Committee Chair, Michelle Smith, said:
“Eric has been an amazing contributor to football in SA, his 100th NPL match is a testament to that. We wish him all the best for his milestone match on Saturday.”
Football South Australia would like to congratulate Eric on this fantastic achievement.