In my time a lot of referees have retired and the majority of new candidates are not interested in open age football.Lot of good refs have gone from the Wakefield and District League and then the West Yorkshire Association Football League!! What do you think @Brian Hamilton?? Can you name any??
I can't speak for the Wakefield League but as far as the WYAFL is concerned our panel is larger than last year. The problem is that because they are also trying to support local leagues, who have even fewer referees, their availability is reduced.
We've had a few leave and go to other local leagues but as mentioned, they have been replaced by more, meaning a net increase in the panel size.
