IF all goes to plan Lansdowne's Lance Greenshields will be one of the referees at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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Greenshields, 27, now lives in Sydney. He has so far controlled 35 matches in the A-League since making his debut in November 6 2011 for the Sydney FC/Gold Coast United fixture in Sydney.
Greenshields believes he's currently rated in the top 10 in Australia.
"By 2022 I'm aiming to be in the top five or better,'' he said.
"Then I'll be a chance of doing a 'Gibbo' - going to the World Cup.''
Gibbo is Nathan Gibson. He refereed his first game locally and rose to be one of the match officials at the 2006 World Cup held in Germany.
Like Gibson, Greenshields started refereeing in this area when he was in year 12 at Chatham High School.
"I continued refereeing for two years in district football until I was spotted and was invited to join the NSW State League Referee's Association,'' he explained.
"From there I spent two years doing some of the best football NSW has to offer. I was then picked to do the Foxtel National Youth League and two years later I was picked to finally do the Hyundai A-League.''
He still remembers how excited he was to be given his first A-League appointment, even if the Sydney/Gold Coast United clash would have been at the lower scale of matches on offer. Gold Coast, owned by Clive Palmer, no longer plays in the competition.
Nerves, he assured, weren't a factor.
"I was more excited than nervous,'' he said.
Gold Coast led 1-0 at the break before Sydney finished on top 3-2.
Greenshields was home last weekend for Lansdowne Soccer Club's 40th year celebrations. His dad, John, has been with the club since day one and only announced his retirement at the end of last season, although Lance has doubts about how permanent this will be.
So far the biggest game he's controlled was the first local derby between Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC at Parramatta Stadium.
"It was huge,'' he said.
"The stadium was packed and the atmosphere was unreal. The Wanderers supporters just really get behind their team.''
Greenshields admits he had some apprehension before the match but that soon disappeared after the kickoff.
At this stage Greenshields mainly controls games featuring the two Sydney clubs, Central Coast and occasionally Newcastle.
"We don't have to travel too much,'' he laughs.
He eventually wants to branch out into Asia as he continues to rise in the refereeing ranks.
He's missed a gig at the Asian Cup to be played in Australia next year but will be a referee liaison officer - organising details like transport for match officials. He believes this will give him an insight into what is required to reach the next level he wants to attain. However, commitment to refereeing makes finding fulltime employment difficult and the financial inducement for referees isn't all that lucrative.
"We have to train four nights a week starting at 6pm and be available for whenever we're needed to referee a game,'' he said.
"I have some investment property so that helps me get by and my wife works,'' he said.
"But it is hard on families. Your wife's getting home from work as you're going out to training. We don't see one-another until 10pm,'' he said.
Greenshields believes referees at the top level are at their best when aged around 35.
He'll be at that age in 2022. Just in time for the World Cup in Qatar.
