When Stephanie Frappart stepped onto the Al Bayt stadium grass on Thursday, she became the first woman to referee a men's World Cup game to complete a journey that started almost 30 years ago on the outskirts of Paris.
The 38-year-old Frenchwoman, who was overseeing the action in the final Group E game between Germany and Costa Rica, played soccer between the age of 10 and 13 in Herblay-sur-Seine before changing paths to become a referee.
"I saw Steph run around the stadium, 12 kilometers, two or three times a week to be at the level she is at now on the field," Philippe Calve, the former president of FC Herblay-sur-Seine, told Reuters in a cafe on Thursday.