The County FA staged its second FAMOA (Football Association Match Officials Association) regional meeting at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield, which saw an attendance of almost 80 referees.
The FAMOA events are held in regions across throughout the country and are an opportunity for new and upcoming referees to meet and learn from the more experienced referees.
Alan Wilkie, Regional Referees Development Manager said “These in service training evenings are vital for the development and progression of referees. Referees at all different stages in their careers attend and everyone has got experience or opinion to share. Its essential these referees meet, learn and gain support from each other.”
Ian Blanchard, Head of Referring for The FA said “I must congratulate Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA for the hard work and commitment shown into referee recruitment and retention.
The Referees department face enormous challenges from grassroots level up to the professional level and its important we all work together to improve the quality and standard of referring as well as stamp out bad behaviour from players and spectators at all levels.”
The Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA currently is 600 referees short to officiate matches. With the growth in small sided football and girls and women’s football the demand for referees is higher than ever.
In a recent re-structure, Craig Grundy was appointed Referees Development Officer for the County FA and will now deal with referee recruitment and retention issues and is now directly supported by The FA, in an attempt to achieve the target that every football match should have a qualified referee.
At the presentation Ian spoke about the challenges facing refereeing and the FA’s plans to address issues such as unsporting behaviour from parents, supporters and players and also ways to improve initial referee training courses.
Ian also reported that a number of high profile education campaigns are to be launched. The first being “Respect the Ref” – it’s about working with clubs and encouraging good practice and behaviour from supporters and players.
In addition, Ian reported technology may play a greater part in refereeing in the future. So, The FA is actively seeking ways to improve and raise standards of refereeing in the Country at all levels. From Manchester United to Millmoor Juniors every player and supporter must play their part too, as statistics’ show that we are losing more referees every season than we are recruiting and no referees mean no football!
Are you up for the challenge? If you are interested in becoming a referee contact Craig Grundy on 0114 2414 992 or email craig.grundy@sheffieldfa.com