ELENI Glouftsis will fulfill a dream on Saturday when she becomes the first woman to officiate a senior game of SANFL football.
Glouftis will take charge of a vital encounter between North Adelaide and Glenelg onSaturday.
Having taken up umpiring while at high school and with a father who umpired and a boyfriend who is an AFL boundary umpire, the 21-year-old knows her craft.
Having always loved football, she said umpiring was simply a way to be involved at the highest level possible.
Glouftsis said the honour of becoming the first female field umpire in SANFL history was great, after officiating 47 reserves games.
"I was just very excited, ultimately the goal when you start umpiring is to umpire league football so to get that phone call was just fantastic," Glouftsis said.
"The goal one day is to do AFL but if I can get a few SANFL league matches next year, then hopefully one day finals and from there we'll see.
"As a female it's really hard to be involved at such a high level, but this is away to just be continually involved."
As a woman in a male-dominated field, Glouftsis admitted she received "a few interesting looks" when she first umpired but that she was quickly accepted.
"I've been around for eight years now, so most of them know who I am," she said.
"You get the general abuse for fee kicks and that sort of thing but it's not much different from females to males.
"Every now and then you'll get a few smart remarks but, in general, they're just disputing a decision – it's nothing personal."
SANFL umpiring director Shane Harris said he had "no doubt" Glouftsis had what it took to eventually umpire in the AFL.
"Eleni has a feel for the game and a good understanding, a part of the game is to anticipate the play and read the play and she does it really well," Harris told AFL.com.au.
"From a physical point of view she's a natural runner ... there's no doubt she can umpire AFL footy and hopefully join [AFL goal umpire] Chelsea Roffey."
Harris said the SANFL had seen an increasing number of female umpires come through its ranks in recent seasons.
He said eight of the 38 umpires in the league's 2013 junior academy were female.
