While football fever sweeps the country ahead of the FIFA World Cup starting in June, and with tickets to this weekend’s A-League Men grand final between Auckland FC and Sydney FC selling out within minutes, one familiar face continues giving back to the game at grassroots level in Whakatāne.

Whakatāne Association Football Club referee Colin Harrison celebrated his 84th birthday on Wednesday, and still regularly volunteers his time, often refereeing two games in a day.

Originally from Dorset near Southampton in England, Harrison and his wife moved to New Zealand in 1967 and have lived in Whakatāne for close to 12 years after previously living in Ōpōtiki.

Harrison has been refereeing football for more than 40 years and can be found on the sidelines on the field most weekends.

He trains six days a week to stay fit, using a rebounder, weights and an exercise bike.

Often running backwards, he said: “You’ve got to keep an eye on the game, or the players move the ball after a free kick.”

Harrison used to travel often to referee games in Tauranga and Auckland, and overseas.

He refereed an over-50s international between Germany and Turkey during overseas travels and attended FIFA World Cups in Spain, Italy and the United States as a supporter.

A memorable game was refereeing a New Zealand versus Thailand junior international, where he received a gold medal presented by the King of Thailand.

He laughed while remembering some of the confusion around football and rugby terminology when he first arrived in New Zealand.

“Someone said, we’re training Wednesday night, come down. When I got there, I said, ‘where’s the pitch?’ The guy was talking about football (rugby), and I was talking about football (soccer).”

Harrison said referee numbers in the Eastern Bay had dropped significantly over the years.

Where there were around 14 referees locally in the 70s, only about four remain.

Despite the shrinking referee numbers, Harrison said the role remained hugely rewarding.

“When you get there and the parents on the sideline say, ‘Thank you Colin, we really appreciate the effort you put in for our children’ – what more could you do in life?

“On Saturday, after the game, the girls all had this huge lot of goodies as an appreciation. That’s why I love doing it.”

He said while referees sometimes had to deal with criticism from the sidelines, he had no hesitation dealing with poor behaviour.

“If they get in my ear, you get a red or yellow card.”

Harrison said his involvement in football had also required sacrifices over the years, and he credited much of his ability to continue refereeing to the support of his wife.

“When I was milking, my wife used to milk with the boy that we employed, so that I could go and referee these games … she’s amazing.”

He said anyone interested in refereeing should contact their local football club or association to get started.

Asked about his overall experience with refereeing, he said: “Mainly wonderful. And I mean that.”