Meet the officials | Middlesbrough

Farai Hallam will be the man with the whistle when Swansea City visit Middlesbrough for Saturday’s Championship opener (3pm).

It will mark the third time the former Stevenage apprentice has taken charge of a fixture involving the Swans senior side.

The Surrey official had the whistle for the dramatic victory over Luton Town at the Swansea.com Stadium at the end of December 2024, and for the 1-0 victory at Sunderland later in the campaign.

Having once been on the books of Stevenage and had a spell in Spain, Hallam moved into grassroots refereeing in 2012 and progressed to take charge of his first EFL game in May 2023.

He has also held the role of senior referee officer at the FA’s Centre of Refereeing Excellence (CORE).

On Saturday he will be assisted by Richard Woodward and Alistair Nelson, while Zac Kennard-Kettle will be the fourth official.