It’s that time of the year again and we feel it is right to acknowledge a referee who we thought had an outstanding season.

It was certainly a tough choice as there were quite a few candidates for this particular award as the standard of our referees has grown quite a bit recently.

After much deliberation the man we feel stood out above all others and certainly deserves this award is someone who has been part of the GCFA for a very long time.

Referee Mark Daly has been voted the 2024/2025 Glasgow Colleges Football Association Referee of the Year after an outstanding campaign officiating at the highest level of GCFA football.

The inaugural awards were launched a few years ago as part of footy focus and the GCFA’s continued mission to foster the best playing environments and grow the number of referees who would like to participate in our league set up.

“As we continue to emphasize the importance of refereeing to our game, Social Media Hq and the GCFA is proud to recognize the significant contributions mark Daly, who we reckon represents the best of officiating in the Glasgow Colleges Football Association ,” said an unknown source at social media HQ.

“Growing referee participation across our game is a key goal for the ourselves, and these awards recognize referees’ service to the game and give aspiring officials even more to strive for as they continue their referee careers,”

A good football referee needs to be fair, focused, and confident. They must know the rules very well and make quick, clear decisions.

A great referee is someone who helps the game run smoothly, with respect for everyone involved.

We feel that Mark is a perfect choice for this award due to him possessing many of the great characteristics that we mentioned above.

The whistle blowers illustrious career now includes GCFA Domestic Cup finals and also national cup competitions officiated within the last twenty four months.

The Scottish referee made his officiating debut in the GCFA over fifteen years ago and has been one of the leading match officials in his time within the league set up.

We caught up with Mark Daly and he said below ⬇️

“I am humbled to be the Glasgow Colleges Football Association Referee of the Year,” Daly said. “It’s such an incredible feeling to have years of hard work acknowledged and respected. Thank you to everyone for the support and recognition.”

Mark was awarded for his tremendous season by being hand picked to Referee the Jim Harvey Cup Final between Toryglen Thistle and Rossvale Huntershill.

Toryglen Thistle won that game 2-0 and the game passed by with no major flash points and the man in the middle being hardly noticed.

When the Whistler is hardly noticed during a cup final we would say that is the sign of a good official who controls the game very well and lets the game flow.

We would like to congratulate Mark on a fantastic season and hope that he comes back for another year to lend his experience to the GCFA and make it a better place.