Darren played for the Norwich City youth team of 1987 but later spent time with Crystal Palace. Matthew Carpenter, the webmaster of the Wroxham FC website informed me that Darren played for a few local (ie East Anglian) non-league sides including Norwich United but is currently a Jewson League official and refereed the 1997/98 Norfolk Senior Cup final at Carrow Road

Darren refereed the July 2004 friendly clash between Norwich City and Great Yarmouth Town. He is currently the premier football referreeing official in Norfolk and was selected as an assistant referee for the Coca Cola League One play-off final between Hartlepool and Sheffield Wednesday on 29th May 2005. "In terms of prestige it is certainly my best appointment," said Cann. "But you have to try and remember that it is no different whether you are officiating at a local parks' game or in front of 80,000. The higher you go, the more pressure and nerves there is - decisions you make affect multi million pound games, but that is something I enjoy."

Cann was elevated to the Football League refereeing lists in 2001 and officiated at the FA Cup third round tie between Chelsea and Scunthorpe in January 2005 and assisted FA Cup final referee Rob Styles in a fourth round tie at Charlton. The ambitious official is targeting the Premier League and beyond in the future. "I would like to progress on both lists," said Cann, currently qualified to referee at Conference, Football Combination and FA Premier Reserve League level. "I train three times a week and during the course of a season would expect to officiate at two games per week.

"When I came back to Norfolk I was turning out for Wroxham, but my standard of play was going downhill," he said. "During my couple of years at Palace
they encouraged us to develop a good understanding of the laws of the game and I really wanted to go back into the professional ranks."