Referees are a vital part of football and as the Scottish FA seeks to continually grow and develop the Scottish game, there is a constant need to recruit and develop referees.

The local Referee Associations continue to be looking to welcome new members and to this end, we would invite anyone interested to contact the Association which covers matches in their area.

Refereeing can be a highly rewarding challenge, encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle as well as significantly contributing to the development of the game. Referees operate at all levels – from grassroots football right through to the Scottish Professional Football League and international matches.

The Associations run introductory classes which depending on numbers can be face to face or by Zoom/Teams. These can be tailored to suit candidate availability.
In addition, there is also an on-line course which can be completed at the candidates own pace, in their own surroundings, over 5 modules, with details on the SFA website.

All courses also have a face-to-face session for candidates to provide advice on the practicalities of officiating.

Support is given to new referees by their Referees’ Association and a mentor arranged to provide guidance in the early stages of their refereeing careers. Direction will also be given on suitable leagues to commence refereeing.

Perhaps, you too could follow in the footsteps of Nick Walsh who has been recently promoted to the Elite Category of UEFA Referees. With only 35 referees across Europe included in this group, he will have the opportunity to referee at the very highest level of the game on an international stage.

We would be delighted to hear from you and contact details are undernoted. Further details are also on the SFA website in the referee section.

Scottish Football Association Aberdeen & District Referees’ Association
Website: Scottishfa.co.uk (incorporating Orkney and Shetland)

E-mail: aberdeenrefereeonline@outlook.com secretarysfarefereeaberdeen@outlook.com Website: www.aberdeenanddistrictreferees.co.uk

Moray and Banff Referees’ Association North of Scotland Referees’ Association

Email: mbrefereecourse@gmail.com Email: NOSRAinstructors@gmail.com
Website: www.nosref.org.uk

Angus and Perth Referees’ Association
Email: recruiment@aprefs.co.uk
Website: www.aprefs.co.uk