His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, Patron of the Football Association, visited one of the FA's referee training programmes today.
The course was part of our Reflective and Representative campaign which aims to recruit 1,000 people from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds over the next three years into referee roles and was held at Sporting Khalsa FC.
The courses, part of our landmark three-year refereeing strategy, combine theory and practical training to support those who are taking their first steps into officiating.
Since the launch of our strategy, over 900 people have accessed a referee course via the Reflective and Representative campaign bursary scheme, with over 50 targeted referee courses delivered exclusively to Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage populations.
During the visit, The Prince met with tutors and aspiring referees on the course to hear about their involvement in refereeing and the importance of opening up opportunities in football to young people from diverse backgrounds.
The Prince was also joined by professional match official and Lieutenant in the British Army, Levi Gray, whose journey has seen her appointed as part of the officiating team for the 2024 Women's FA Cup at Wembley Stadium.
His Royal Highness also joined a lesson with participants on the course about the different types of fouls in a football game and when to introduce yellow and red cards.
On the pitch, His Royal Highness joined participants at different stations teaching referee skills such as whistle tones and flag signals, before practising as a referee in a mini football game alongside participants on the programme.
The FA’s refereeing strategy, ‘To Grow, Guide and Govern’ was launched in July 2023, and makes a significant commitment to diversify the refereeing pathway through the delivery of a greater number of courses, bursary schemes, and enhancing diversity in supporting roles within refereeing.
Our newly-launched mentoring programme, developed in partnership with BAMREF, is also providing support to Black, Asian, and Mixed Heritage match officials on their progression through the grassroots pathway.
Significant progress has already been made and since the formation of the campaign, we have increased the number of referees from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds from two per cent to just over ten per cent, surpassing our targets.
Our CEO Mark Bullingham said “It was a privilege to welcome His Royal Highness to our refereeing course to learn more about the work being delivered on the ground to inspire the next generation of match officials.
"We want people of all backgrounds to take up refereeing and our Reflective and Representative campaign is helping to create a culture of support, ensuring future match officials better represent the diversity we see on the pitch.”
