On Monday 21st October, the Berks & Bucks FA hosted its first online Club Referee Workshop of the season.

There were 95 people in attendance from different clubs across the county. The aim of the session was to help support and develop the volunteers who officiate games for their clubs, either as a referee or an assistant referee. 

The session was split into two sections: refereeing and assistant refereeing. The refereeing section of the meeting covered topics including the roles and responsibilities of a referee; the key skills needed to be a good referee; the different types of free kick offences and discipline sanctions in football; and the new FA guidelines this year regarding heading, kick ins and sin bins.

The assistant refereeing section covered the main roles and responsibilities of an assistant referee; the law regarding ball in and out of play; the difference between offside position and offside offences; and the different signals that an assistant referee needs to use.

The Berks & Bucks has also started to offer face-to-face practical training for clubs who would like to upskill their volunteers even further.  The sessions will build on skills such as communication, positioning and movement around the field of play and decision making with confidence.

The first two sessions have been delivered at Aston Clinton Colts JFC and Olney Town Colts FC. Both sessions were a success with around 30 people in attendance across both events. We are looking to run as many similar events as possible to help support clubs and its volunteers.



The Berks & Bucks FA have also created a guide for Club Assistant Referees which has the key information about the roles and responsibilities of an assistant, the assistant referee signals and the laws regarding ball in and out of play and offside.

For more information about hosting a Club Refereeing Workshop or the Club Assistant Referee Guide, please email our Referee Team.