The Football Association plays a vital role in ensuring that football gets the match officials it deserves. The Refereeing Department at Soho Square, is responsible for the appointment of officials to matches in all FA competitions (The FA Premier League, Football League and Conference are responsible for appointments to their own competitions). All referees are registered with County Football Associations through whom The FA works closely to recruit and train referees and match officials.

Demand for referees continues to grow - over 7,000 new referee candidates were recruited, trained on FA courses and qualified in the last year. The FA runs a comprehensive range of courses for Referee Instructors, who are responsible for training courses run by County Football Associations. Referee Assessors courses, also run by The FA, are held nationally, while the International Course for Referee Instructors, attended by all FIFA Confederations, is held every other year.

The Refereeing Department also assists with the arrangements for English officials appointed to matches abroad at international or club level, and acts as a liaison to foreign referees appointed to officiate at England internationals. As well as the appointment and recruitment of officials, the Referees Committee (the Council committee which oversees the work of the department) also deals with matters arising under the Regulations for the Registration and Control of Referees in England. It appoints Boards of Appeal relating to those Regulations, makes recommendations to the FA Council concerning alterations to the Laws of the Game and recommends to FIFA which referees should be placed on the International Panel.

Any changes in the Laws of the Game which are recommended by the Refereeing Department (for example, the use of technological aids by referees) must go before the International Football Association Board. The Board meets annually, normally in February, and comprises eight members: four representing FIFA and four representing the British Football Associations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). The new Laws for each season come into force on 1 July and all the County Football Associations in England are sent details of any amendments by The FA's Refereeing Department.

Recent developments in refereeing, include the new arrangements for the Professional Game introduced in 2001/02, the launch of the F.A. Match Officials Association (FAMOA) and the appointment of Regional Refereeing Managers.