Recruitment and Retention of Referees - 20 November 2007

FA Referees Committee

 

Task force into the recruitment and retention of referees

Mindful of the problems all counties, and indeed all countries, face recruiting and retaining referees the FA Referees Committee recently approved my proposal to establish a Task Force to look into this important area of the game. The composition and Terms of Reference of this Task Force are attached.

We had our first meeting last week and I was delighted with the response from the members to my challenge that we should be bold and positive in our thoughts (�blue sky� or �out of the box� thinking in modern jargon!).

We are very keen to do something concrete and to take advantage of a number of timely other initiatives not least the introduction of Referee Development Officers and the Brian Barwick led �respect� campaign.

The Task force hopes to produce a number of ideas and recommendations which can be used at all levels of the game and we would really welcome your personal and your county�s input at this early stage.

We all know the problems so what we would really like to hear from you are possible solutions, strategies, changes or anything which you think might help recruit more officials and help keep more of those we already have.

So please SEND US YOUR IDEAS - the more innovative, different or controversial the better!

Please send all thoughts, ideas and suggestions to: Ian Blanchard, Head of National Referee Development, The FA, 25 Soho Square, London W1D 4FA or e mail them to him at [email protected] (and copy me in on [email protected])

Very many thanks in advance for your help in this key initiative.
David Elleray
Chairman, FA Referee Recruitment and Retention Task Force
 
Task force into the recruitment and retention of referees

Composition

David Elleray   Vice Chairman, FA Referees Committee, UEFA Referees Committee, RAE Hon. President

Ray Lewis       Chairman, FA Referees Committee, Chairman, Surrey CFA

Arthur Smith    FA Referees Committee, RA/RAE Operations Officer

Peter Jackson   FA Referees Committee, Chairman Sheffield & Hallam FA Referees Committee

Neale Barry     FA Head of Senior Referee Development

Ian Blanchard   FA Head of National Referee Development 

Paul Morrison   CEO Devon County FA

David Burgess   CEO Lancashire County FA

Martin Head     County Secretary Suffolk County FA

Terms of Reference

The prime role of the task force will be to:

�       Establish current and recent trends in referee numbers, recruitment and retention

1       Assess the impact on referee recruitment and retention of a variety of factors including:

�       CRB and CPT requirements

1       Lifestyle changes

2       Growth of midweek, small sided football

3       Televised football

�       Identify ways in which recruitment can be increased

1       Identify ways in which retention can be improved

Within these broad criteria the task force will focus on:

    • Different geographical areas
    • Young referees
    • Female referees 
    • Referees from ethnic backgrounds
    • Former professional players

 

To establish a clear picture and determine possible future strategies the task force will take account of the views of:

    • Current referees at all levels