Liz Forsdick is a woman who brought a lot of national and international attention to Burgess Hill in 1981. 

Why is that? Liz was a line person in the F.A. Cup Third Qualifying Round between Burgess Hill and Carshalton. With her appearance, she became the first ever Class I F.A. official. 

Her husband Phil, who also was a Class I referee, and her have been refereeing for years in Middlesex before they moved to Horsham at the start of 1981. In Liz’s professional six-year career up until the F.A. Cup game, she dismissed around 15 players. 

Whilst Liz gained a lot of attention through her record-breaking performance, there was one issue in particular that attracted the media: Burgess Hill’s dressing rooms are unfortunately not designed for men and women as there is only one changing room available. Especially at the time, female officials were incredibly rare and two referee rooms were not needed. 

Days before the game, the club found a solution for this issue. Leylands Park, the club’s pitch, is located in a residential area and therefore is surrounded by many houses. Hillian’s Committee members Sue and Roger Puttick only lived a couple of minutes away from the ground and therefore offered for Liz to get ready there before the match. 

It was a landmark day for Liz and Burgess Hill, as they received international media attention for the first time. The German magazine ‘Kicker’ reported on the game and the milestone in football that came with.

Despite the Hillian’s losing to Carshalton with 5-1, their loss is not the main thing that was remembered from this day. Liz and everything she stands for, took over the media and put Burgess Hill into international newspapers. A success for the club and women in sports!