Football Far North Coast have put out a Call to Arms for match officials for the 2025 football season.

This Call to Arms is targeted at registered players (who are aged 18 years or older), team officials, parents and volunteers, to accept the challenge of becoming an accredited Match Official.

In a statement from FFNC, it demonstrates the difficulties the competition and sport in general is facing.

"The reality is that player numbers are booming, but efforts to recruit and retain match officials continues to be problematical everywhere and there is no easy fix. There are some who believe that increasing the payment to match officials is the simple answer to having more match officials, but this is only one factor. Regretfully, there are never enough people who step up each year to officiate and beyond that, the attrition rate of match officials leaving the role each season (for a range of reasons), creates a situation, where there are not even enough match officials to appoint to every match in every instance. There is unfortunately a lot of false information in the football community concluding that the absence of match officials is the fault of FFNC, despite such claims being misplaced and it is necessary to get some correction into the real situation. Like most aspects of the game, we need a collaborative effort if we are going to progress the broad scope of football in this region that will deliver even greater satisfaction for more people than it now does."

"Many sports have responded to the dire shortage of referees and umpires, (noting that ALL sports are impacted by a shortage of people willing to officiate), by mandating that players/teams/clubs wanting to participate in a competition, supply their own match officials. The relatively few instances in FFNC where club match officials are required, confirms how upset people get when there are no match officials appointed. This situation also confirms the lack of awareness that match officials do not exist in the numbers that most players/coaches/parents may think?"

It is hoped that strategies to entice people to voluntarily become an accredited match official, will identify individuals who perhaps just need a 'nudge', noting that we need to do more to make it blatantly clear, that the game locally, needs dozens of more senior/adult match officials than currently exist. It would disappointing if FFNC was forced to make it compulsory for every club to also nominate accredited match officials when nominating teams, but this is a conversation that has been had variously over many years as playing numbers continue to surge.

It is also necessary to dispel the myth that match officials are 'employees' of Football Far North Coast, as they are not. Payments made to match officials are facilitated by FFNC, but this money comes from players via registrations paid to their club each season. FFNC subsequently invoices each club to retrieve the payments that have been made to each match official during the season. Match Officials can opt in (or opt out) and while there are some requirements, the role of a match official should not be understood as being an employee/employer relationship. Match Officials are part of the broader football community and in most cases, will themselves have other roles.

WHY BECOME A MATCH OFFICIAL?

There are many reasons, but these are some;

• Because competition football needs match officials to function;
• Because match officials typically come from existing (or past) players, or people who are currently involved in the game;
• YOUR understanding of the Laws of the Game will be enhanced by YOU becoming an accredited match official;
• Match Officials can continue to play, coach and have a role with a club;
• Officiating teaches GREAT skills, such as people management and communication;
• Match Officials receive a payment for officiating, which is a tangible reward, but should not be the primary incentive.

PLEASE consider how YOU can contribute to the game by officiating. The next step is to work your way through the three stages of basic accreditation that Football Australia requires. These are;

1. Competition of four online modules (FREE to complete);
2. Completion of six online modules (Approximately $185 paid to FA but reimbursed by FFNC when a match official officiates ten fixtures);
3. Completion of a practical component.

We encourage you to read the information contained in the link here;

https://footballfarnorthcoast.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Procedures-for-Becoming-a-Referee.pdf

Online training can start at YOUR convenience, noting that the next practical course locally in scheduled for Saturday 23rd November, likely at Ballina.

Hopefully this email prompts you to accept the challenge and to be a person who is part of driving better outcomes for the game through becoming an accredited match official. Season 2025 is not as far away as you might think, so the time to start committing to being a match official, is now.