Plans have been made to setup a Cheshire FA Young Referees Group that aims to provide referees in Cheshire, under the age of 25, with a voice in the ongoing development of their refereeing careers.  

After being approved by the County Referee Committee, the group will be founded by young referees from all areas of the County that are passionate and motivated to help referees get the most out of their experiences.

Whilst the Referee Department has implemented numerous highly successful development, education, training and social groups, this is the first time the young referees themselves will have the opportunity to adapt and improve, making it more suitable for all young referees county-wide.  

With the overarching aim of improving young referees' experiences, the group will aim to:

• Represent young referees opinions in committee meetings.
• Support and assist the large proportion of young referees in Cheshire through personal experience.
• Focus on the recruitment, retention and development of young referees.
• Improve and continue the current mechanisms used by the Referee Development Officer, Trevor Massey.
• Provide online platforms to improve communication amongst young referees.

The Young Referees group intends to build on the foundations set by the RA-FA Youth Council, who were tasked with similar objectives on a national scale.

Referees between the ages of 17 and 25 registered with the Cheshire FA as their “Parent County” will be invited to apply to become part of the Young Referees Group in the near future.

Trevor Massey, Cheshire FA Referee Development Officer said: "It's with great pleasure that we can announce this group is to be set up.  It will be fantastic for young referees in the County to have their own platform to share their experiences and grow as individuals in an environment specifically tailored to their needs.

"Young referees are our future, once setup this group will mean that young referees will now get a voice to shape the future of refeering in the county, not just amongst their own age demographic but refeering on the whole in Cheshire, something I very much welcome."