'First of many': All-female refereeing team makes Capital Football history

This was a moment not just for herself or her two assistants, but for whistleblowers she looked up to like Allyson Flynn and Nia Southwell.

Now that the pause, the opening whistle and the ensuing 90 minutes are all over? Ghirardello is counting down the days until she can do it all over again.

Ghirardello and assistant referees Lauren Hargrave and Delfina Dimoski made Capital Football history in a men's Premier League clash at Deakin Stadium on Sunday.

The trio are the first all-female team to officiate a top level match in the ACT, marked by a 1-1 draw between the ladder-leading Canberra Croatia and Tuggeranong United.

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"We are standing on the shoulders of those who came before us," Ghirardello said.

"This is a first of many more games where you'll see a full female referee team on the NPL1. Lauren, Del and I are examples of what can happen when girls from grassroots football are supported and nurtured by the community around them

"I'm lucky to be on the pitch with two of the best referees in Canberra. I see them training hard week in week out, putting in the hours, so when moments like this happen, it feels deserving and that we have been recognised.

"The referee pathways in Canberra are competitively one of the best in Australia. We have a lot of individuals with experience as referees and assessors in the A-League and W-League, all the way up to FIFA.

"Seize the moment. Refereeing football is fun, pick up the whistle and it'll blow you away."

For all of Capital Football's forgettable refereeing dramas in recent years, this is a moment to remember. Not least of which for Hargrave.

Hargrave has got a taste of life as an official in the W-League and was the central referee in the first female refereeing team for equivalent competition in Tasmania last year.

Yet there was a time she thought it would never be possible.

"If I reflect back 10 years, I genuinely would have never contemplated all-female refereeing teams in men's NPL," Hargrave said.

"I am excited to see regular all-female refereeing teams in men's NPL1 matches as well as what other boundaries in sport can be broken."

There could be few better whistleblowers to round out the historic trio than Dimoski, who has been a W-League assistant for eight seasons and claimed both NPL women's and men's referee of the year awards last year.

"I feel privileged to be part of this trio," Dimoski said.

"I feel that each of us in our own right is an accomplished match official but this allows it to be showcased as a complete package.

"We have access to excellent mentors and this year we have run women's only education sessions and have a women's only referee support group led by senior females.

"All of these factors lead up to ACT having four females currently on the W-League, which are great stats for a small federation.

"I always come back to 'you can't be what you can't see' - so the three of us together on this game will give local female match officials something to aspire to."