A&H

Referee Development Officers & CFAs

Libano Ref

Libano Ref

New Member
Been reading a lot and having a look at Referee Development Officers (RDOs) around the country (not just where I'm based) and their work within their CFAs as part of a research I'm doing on referee abuse. Is it just me or does there seem to be a lack of work regarding the retention of referees and recruitment of new ones every season. I've had a look at 4 different CFAs, and read about 6-7 others and it doesn't seem great. Obviously research clearly states that we're losing referees as fast as we're recruiting them (to a certain extent).

What's been your experience with RDOs and what more do you feel needs to be done? What do you wish you have as a ref within your area/county?

Is it mainly support?
Is it development & coaching?
Is it just being social and keeping in touch?
 
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Libano Ref said:
Been reading a lot and having a look at Referee Development Officers (RDOs) around the country (not just where I'm based) and their work within their CFAs as part of a research I'm doing on referee abuse. Is it just me or does there seem to be a lack of work regarding the retention of referees and recruitment of new ones every season. I've had a look at 4 different CFAs, and read about 6-7 others and it doesn't seem great. Obviously research clearly states that we're losing referees as fast as we're recruiting them (to a certain extent).

What's been your experience with RDOs and what more do you feel needs to be done? What do you wish you have as a ref within your area/county?

Is it mainly support?
Is it development & coaching?
Is it just being social and keeping in touch?
Click to expand...

I recently went on a mentor course to mentor referees coming into the game. I was told on that course that they had recently trained lots more referees 500+ that needed mentors.

Having got in contact the my RDO.. in the space of about 3/4 months I have been assigned to ONE game despite being available.

Either there is a huge amount of mentors or there are a lack of new referees requiring a mentor for a game both of which I doubt.
 
Our County seems to be well ahead of others when comparing my experience to others.
We have a referee workforce.

Referee development officer (who was not furloughed during COVID and continued CPD all through lock down)
Referee appointment officer
Mentor coordinator
Observer coordinator
Referee representative.
Referee Mental health champion

There's some CPD for everyone at varying stages of their careers and for those that aren't interested in progressing they aren't left out.

I can't speak highly enough of my county FA and the people I work with within it.
 
Libano Ref said:
Been reading a lot and having a look at Referee Development Officers (RDOs) around the country (not just where I'm based) and their work within their CFAs as part of a research I'm doing on referee abuse. Is it just me or does there seem to be a lack of work regarding the retention of referees and recruitment of new ones every season. I've had a look at 4 different CFAs, and read about 6-7 others and it doesn't seem great. Obviously research clearly states that we're losing referees as fast as we're recruiting them (to a certain extent).

What's been your experience with RDOs and what more do you feel needs to be done? What do you wish you have as a ref within your area/county?

Is it mainly support?
Is it development & coaching?
Is it just being social and keeping in touch?
Click to expand...
As one of the largest CFA's (around 1300 referees) Hampshire has devolved mentor support to each of its six local areas, and likewise with appointing mentors to matches.
The Referee Focus Group meets regularly and has members dedicated to improving recruitment, retention, CORE, inclusivity, female officials, in-service development, etc.
Online groups support referees of all levels, and we are currently engaging with local clubs as we attempt to take on more adult referees (95% of our new referees are under 16)
At the end of the basic course we have a handout (e-mailed, copy to parents if referee under 18, and hard copy posted) which gives guidance re Whole Game System, CFA support (with contact details), local leagues and appointment secretaries, mentor coordinators, the RA, kit and resources, how to obtain appointments, etc.
In the last 13 months we have had 500 candidates through these courses, each contacted by the local appointment secretary.
For current referees we work with the RA branches in the area to offer ongoing support - each newbie gets a year's free membership of the RA - and we offer support to any referee facing attendance (all virtual, currently) at Disciplinary and Hearings.
We offer practical and classroom support to all our promotion candidates and extend it to potential candidates. Support may include watching matches, with reviews of the match officials, etc.
A wide range of support is available - and we do all we can to help every referee - but as they say "You can lead a referee to water, but . . ."
 
Libano Ref said:
Been reading a lot and having a look at Referee Development Officers (RDOs) around the country (not just where I'm based) and their work within their CFAs as part of a research I'm doing on referee abuse. Is it just me or does there seem to be a lack of work regarding the retention of referees and recruitment of new ones every season. I've had a look at 4 different CFAs, and read about 6-7 others and it doesn't seem great. Obviously research clearly states that we're losing referees as fast as we're recruiting them (to a certain extent).

What's been your experience with RDOs and what more do you feel needs to be done? What do you wish you have as a ref within your area/county?

Is it mainly support?
Is it development & coaching?
Is it just being social and keeping in touch?
Click to expand...
I think one of the biggest problems with the RDO;s in the CFA, is that they are still active referees trying to get promoted. Therefore, they are unavailable on Saturdays when the majority of matches are played. I know why this happens - the FA are ensuring that there most promising referees (for SG1 status) are employed and don't get distracted by work matters. But, this, I think creates, a conflict of interest.

I know the RDO work hard mid-week, but they need excellent support teams to help them. But most of the support teams are volunteers...

I think the whole structure needs looking at. Since the CFA's are there to develop new referees up to L4 status, no CFA RDO should be a active referee above a L5.

While I am on my hobbyhorse, there are too many CFA's. Given what they actually do know and the use of computers to help, we should have regional FA's. I would abolish the 3 Yorkshire CFA's and combine into a single Yorkshire FA. A similar options for the North East (Durham, Northumberland, etc)
 
Libano Ref said:
Been reading a lot and having a look at Referee Development Officers (RDOs) around the country (not just where I'm based) and their work within their CFAs as part of a research I'm doing on referee abuse. Is it just me or does there seem to be a lack of work regarding the retention of referees and recruitment of new ones every season. I've had a look at 4 different CFAs, and read about 6-7 others and it doesn't seem great. Obviously research clearly states that we're losing referees as fast as we're recruiting them (to a certain extent).

What's been your experience with RDOs and what more do you feel needs to be done? What do you wish you have as a ref within your area/county?

Is it mainly support?
Is it development & coaching?
Is it just being social and keeping in touch?
Click to expand...
My old RDO had a very busy area to cover so might not be their fault but I found they were no help at all

Moved to a different county and my RDO is brilliant and is actually helping me find the opportunities I've spent a whole season asking for in my old CFA
 
My first RDO was in S&H. He was a former Football League Assistant and I found his admin was very good despite the number of referees he had under him being rather large. If you didn't reply or didn't show up etc you were struggling with him, if you did what you should then he was excellent. If you didn't let him down he wouldn't let you down and that's the way it should be
 
Thanks for the replies all.

It's an odd thing with CFAs and their RDOs. I have to say, many of them are criticised for a lack of effort and support. Some referees feel like they're thrown in the deep end at times, or their introduction into the game (open-aged football for example) is not as smooth as it needs to be.

Others perhaps do not give much attention to mentorship and proper observation notes (not just the usual observation reports, but more detailed development ones).

I don't know if the CFAs are understaffed and RDOs are expected to do too much, or whether there's really a lot of negligence towards ensuring referees are supported enough, and communicated with well enough over the course of a season.
 
I went to the Mentors course a few years ago when I was in Essex, and haven't once been assigned a mentee or any one-off coaching since then in either county. And I think it's simply down to the fact that I'm also an active referee as well - if they have access to my services on a Saturday afternoon, they would have to leave an additional match uncovered in order to free me up to go and watch a new referee.

And that's fine with me to to be honest - I'm trying to get promotion and need to achieve a certain number of matches. I don't know how much leeway there is in that for weekends when I could be ticking off middles but instead am stood on the side watching someone.
 
GraemeS said:
I went to the Mentors course a few years ago when I was in Essex, and haven't once been assigned a mentee or any one-off coaching since then in either county. And I think it's simply down to the fact that I'm also an active referee as well - if they have access to my services on a Saturday afternoon, they would have to leave an additional match uncovered in order to free me up to go and watch a new referee.

And that's fine with me to to be honest - I'm trying to get promotion and need to achieve a certain number of matches. I don't know how much leeway there is in that for weekends when I could be ticking off middles but instead am stood on the side watching someone.
Click to expand...
A number of referees in Hampshire very kindly mentor youth games early(ish) on Saturday mornings, before heading off to their afternoon games.
We also have youth and Open Age matches on Sundays, where a number of Saturday afternoon referees from all levels mentor junior colleagues.
We are also inviting Under-18 referees to volunteer to mentor Under-16's.
Everyone welcome, at all levels!
 
Unless I’m mistaken in some counties the RDO has been abolished or merged with another role.

But I agree with reducing the overall number, particularly where there are multiple county FAs overlapping the same area. Peterborough is covered by 4 - Northants, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire all take a slice. And the latter as an official county was subsumed by Cambridgeshire decades ago.

I think Hertfordshire is also split between Herts and the AFA.
 
Tealeaf said:
I think Hertfordshire is also split between Herts and the AFA.
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The AFA isn't geographical, it covers the whole country. But yes, there are a lot of "old boys" type clubs in Herts and they will affiliate to the AFA, which means referees on those leagues will lean towards them.
 
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