He is known to millions as one of the elite football referees of England and takes the lead for the FA Cup final in May – now Stuart Attwell is brings his expertise and experience to table tennis.
The Premier League officer is part of the organization to deliver events for the ITTF World Team Championships in London next year.
We visited Stuart at the VAR HUB – the head office in Stockley Park – to talk about how his role came about and what he does to make London 2026 the best event that it can be.
Stuart came into the role through a relationship with Ed Warner, the chairman of the delivery board of the event, both of which have previously worked in Athletics. During the early days of his official career, Stuart combined this with working for and with British athletics, in the field of coaching education, development and major events.
He said: “It was really a pleasant time and gave me an interesting perspective on the way Elite Sport works, and I think that, together with the referee experience I have now, in Elite Voetbal, probably gives a really unique opportunity to offer something to the world championships.
“I think that the professional background I have in the field of event organization is a series for my arc, but also to bring some of the official experiences I have been in football, in terms of attending large tournaments and looking at how we create the right environment for high performance such as matcha officers, hopefully I can offer something.”
Stuart, who was the youngest Premier League referee at the age of 25 and now took the lead over more than 200 games in the top flight, said that the most important focus is on raising London’s experience for athletes, coaches, officials and spectators.
“First and foremost, we want to ensure that the athletes and civil servants who participate in participation have the very best environment to not only appear and enjoy the experience of making a fantastic competition, but there is also the environment that they can pop up and stand out and perform at their best,” he said.
“It is a well -registered argument that players need this to ensure that they can come and deliver their very best … But from my point of view, technical officers and coaches are likely to have a surveyed environment and part of the insights and experience that I have happy will hopefully be useful to help shape that.”
We also talked about the support that Stuart had received from the FA, the national administrative body of the sport, during his journey along the official path from the age of 15, and what advice he would give to young officials in every sport.
He said: “I was always very happy that I had good support structures in terms of mentors and colleagues who were always present to give good advice and good input, and they have been really fundamental for that progression.
“If you understand that those support structures are a really critical part of your path, then you are, whether you are performing football or table tennis, you are definitely on the right way to make progress.
“It’s great to have ambition and aspiration and wants to officiate in perhaps an Olympic final, but the first step is the one for you – you concentrate on” where am I going, how do I get there, what support do I need? ” and gradually change by small steps.
#Premier #League #referee #Stuart #Attwell #helps #deliver #London #world #championships #Table #tennis #England