West Riding FA recently held a referees course at Campion FC in Bradford with a focus on increasing the number of referees from historically underrepresented groups. 

23 new participants attended the event, with a large majority being from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage communities. These included the brothers of West Riding FA Development Group officials Idrees Akhtar and Sufyaan Shafi.

Many have already organised to access their first five games, and will be well on their way to completing their five games ahead of the call back event.   

Each participant that attended received a bursary for the course which was financed through funding from The FA.

One of the candidates that attended is a coach at one of the local grassroots clubs. 

When asked about the course, this is what he had to say: “I have learned so much from the course that I intend to see how far I could progress. The knowledge I have gained has given him me a new perspective on my coaching and enjoyment of the game in general.”

Mark Haywood, Referee Development Officer at West Riding FA, commented: “We are delighted to have engaged with all of the participants that attended the course and look forward to working with all of them along their refereeing journey.  Hopefully we can look to deliver a similar course later on in the season in another area of the County. Well done to all who attended.”

To learn more about how you can get involved in refereeing, please CLICK HERE