24 new referees qualified in North Riding region this week.
Referees perform a vital role in the game, and with the growth in the popularity of football, particularly for women and children, the demand for match officials is increasing.
Earlier this week, 24 young referees from across the North Riding County passed out as official referees and are now fully qualified to officiate on Junior and Youth league games in the area. All of the 24 young men have attended a mixture of practical and theory workshops over the past few months, as well as officiating on six or more 11-a-side games.
Ross Joyce, Referees Development Officer r the North Riding CFA, said “We are so proud of everyone for taking up the challenge and becoming a referee, this will ensure that even more grassroots games are being played with a qualified match official.
“We had four young men who qualified from the York area and 20 who qualified from the Middlesbrough area.”
The Football Association estimates that in some areas of the country, 20 per cent of games are played without a qualified match official and The FA National Game Strategy goal is to recruit 8,000 new referees by 2012 as well as retain the existing 26,000 officials to ensure that in future, every game has a qualified official who receives regular training and support through an FA mentor programme and helpline.
There are more Module 5 workshops for budding referees in the North Riding area, wishing to become fully qualifiedm which will take place on the following dates, at York College on 17 December and 21 December at the North Riding CFA Headquarters.
If you are interested in becoming a referee or you want to reserve a place on the next Module 5 workshop please contact
e-mail Ross Joyce for more details.
If you're not in the North Riding area, then contact your local County FA for details of any courses local to you by
clicking here.
