Student Roger Goodwin, 18, from Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire is the first budding referee to be offered the scholarship that has been linked to the level 2 vocational qualification for match officials.

The FA's vision is then to link more education establishments to existing courses around the country.

Ian Blanchard, The FA's Head of National Referee Development said: "This is a huge step forward in the professional development of our referees.

"There were around 40 applicants, and we were keen only to take one or two at the most as we were looking for quality rather than quantity.

"After Roger had fulfilled the academic requirement for the university he was interviewed separately for the scholarship programme and iIt was clear that he was an outstanding candidate."

Roger will combine the demands of his University degree course in Sports Education with his refereeing and is fully committed to realising his dream of officiating in the higher echelons of football.

Roger started refereeing at the age of 14 and has been assigned his own Mentor, Jim Harding an FA Referee Instructor, as part of the scholarship.

He will undertake training in areas of conflict management and positioning and movement, as well as studying the laws of the game and working on his speed, fitness and endurance during the scholarship.

An individual fitness programme has already been prepared for him by the University's sports department.

If you would like to find out how you can get involved in refereeing, click on the links below.