Football Far North Coast General Manager has sent out a plea to all clubs and the community for help with a pressing issue.

The lack of match officials across all FFNC Competitions over the last few years has put the expanding competitions under intense pressure and if the trend continues, matches will be abandoned and limits put on team nominations due to the shortage in officials to adjudicate games.

Mackney's letter is below and it is a call out for more people to put their hand up and assist for the competitions to continue to thrive.

Good afternoon,

I write further to numerous communications over many years, including e-mails, social posts, media spots and engaging with clubs and with Northern NSW Football, seeking to ignite meaningful recruitment of match officials and ensuring their retention over the long-term.

Despite numerous communication over many years across multiple channels, there has historically been very limited response to the plea for people to step forward and gain their accreditation to officiate. While the approaching start to season 2026 is prompting interest and excitement for thousands of players, there is limited positive responses in regards recruiting and retaining enough match officials, noting the constraints in matching age, experience and competency with the different levels of FFNC competitions each season.

Unfortunately, current indications are already highlighting a predicted significant shortage of match officials for this season.

At this stage from the 130 registered match officials from 2025, we have 51 who have confirmed that they will return to officiate in 2026, 11 who will not and the balance (being 68), who have mostly been non-responsive thus far, or are 'thinking' about whether they will return to officiate in 2026! Early days perhaps, but historic experience suggests that the way forward to have anywhere near enough match officials to appoint to all/most competition fixtures this coming season, is currently looking more dire than it has ever been.

This is NOT simply an exaggerated statement, nor is it just a local situation, with a colleague from Football Mid North Coast reporting that from120 match officials last season, only 40 have thus far, indicated that they will return in 2026. He further puts context in these numbers, by reporting that 4 are 1^st year Junior referees, 2 more are 1^st year who are yet to do the referee course, 3 are visiting Referees who only officiate occasionally when in the area. The remainder of returning match officials include 19 junior referees, 10 adult referees, but with only 3 really up to doing the higher-level senior matches. 

I recognise that while officiating is a 'necessary' role it is often not seen as a desirable one! Obviously, players, coaches, parents and spectators have a justified expectation that appropriate match officials (centre referee and assistants) are appointed to matches. As a football community we need to ask ourselves, 'where do match officials generally come from'? Although there is a small number of individuals who are not players (or coaches) and who only officiate, the reality within our community football landscape, is that most match officials are either a current or former player (or coach or parent).

We need to both recognise and acknowledge that individuals can (and do) have multiple roles and that they can play, coach or volunteer, while also being a registered match official.

We need MORE individuals to include being a match official, as part of their 'football portfolio'!

This is another Call to Arms, hoping that MORE individuals, (especially adults), will respond positively to ensure that FFNC does not have to move closer towards a situation that happens in many other sports, where official referees/umpires, are so rare, that it is the typically the responsibility for the teams contesting a match, to have to organise their own match officials.

FFNC can generally find match officials (at least a centre), for about 70% of the almost 2000 competition matches each season, but for some, that is seen as being unacceptable and the fault of FFNC. I must necessarily highlight that simply putting the responsibility at the feet of FFNC to seemingly source enough match officials is not realistically addressing the range of issues that exist.

The ONLY way to have enough accredited match officials, is to entice many more individuals (who must be aged at least 13 years, but who are preferably adults), to work through the Football Australia steps to gain accreditation.

1. An individual candidate completes the basic online Laws of the Game modules.
2. The candidate then works through further, more comprehensive online modules;
3. The candidate completes a practical session;

For information about how to get started, click here; Football Match Official Education Modules.

Accredited Match Officials subsequently register with Football Far North Coast and are appointed to appropriate level fixtures in 2026.

NEXT practical sessions (Candidates must attend ONE of these sessions) noting that each candidate must have at least commenced the online modules before attending a practical session.

• Saturday 14 February
• Sunday 12^th April
• Sunday 14^th June

Note that FFNC will reimburse the $153 cost of the course back to accredited match officials after they officiate ten (10) fixtures in 2026

All enquiries are invited to referees@northernnswfootball.com.au

Please make this matter a highest priority item at your club and THANKS in advance for helping to drive better outcomes.

Regards,

Steve