The Ref Stop

Discounted Referee Courses

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grey59

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Level 3W Referee
Good to see a county fa put on a course with a more reasonable price. I've seen some recently charging £150+

It's great that the female only and bamh courses some are offering are discounted to get more people into reffing but theres no reason the courses open to everyone need to cost top dollar!
 

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The Ref Stop
I don't know anything about the costs FA's have with putting these courses on but it does exclude potential referees by charging so much. Even just cutting down from 150 to 100 allows them to buy some kit or something with the saving!
 
OnlyUseMeWhistle said:
I don't know anything about the costs FA's have with putting these courses on but it does exclude potential referees by charging so much. Even just cutting down from 150 to 100 allows them to buy some kit or something with the saving!
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Understood but its a tough balance to crack.

With the rising costs of venue hire and the number of people that end up dropping out from refereeing shortly after qualifying there has to be a balance between the costs of delivering the course and the benefits of absorbing some of that cost.

The initial investment is recovered so quickly and no one expects a brand new ref to be out there in all the gear so the course has to be delivered as cost neutral as possible outwith any schemes to offer discounted courses.
 
JamesL said:
With the rising costs of venue hire and the number of people that end up dropping out from refereeing shortly after qualifying there has to be a balance between the costs of delivering the course and the benefits of absorbing some of that cost.
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hence why I'm not really on my soapbox about it because generally I don't find CFAs take the P with fees and charges.
 
Mine was in 2017 and I believe it was £120 odd but a local sunday league were incentivising refs by paying them back half the fee after they reffed 10 games for them. (No obligation or anything, but that was the offer)

Believe the same sunday league are now working with our county FA to put entirely fee courses on (not sure if that's a buy in and be repaid thing or how it works)
 
grey59 said:
Good to see a county fa put on a course with a more reasonable price. I've seen some recently charging £150+

It's great that the female only and bamh courses some are offering are discounted to get more people into reffing but theres no reason the courses open to everyone need to cost top dollar!
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Good to see a reduced price for anybody - regardless of sex / race etc.
 
I remember mine was about £100 when I got it as a 14th Birthday present and when my brother did the course earlier this year I was surprised when I was told it was about £120/130. For the amount of referees who drop off I do think the increase is needed as they are holding these for maybe 10 referees to stay on for another season in my county.
 
The cost of running courses has increased over recent times, partly because an indoor facility and an external field of play (preferably 3G) are now needed, and 3G rental is very expensive.
Some CFA's offer a cashback deal after the learner completes a specified number of games, and others have financing deals with Academies, clubs, leagues, etc., enabling a discount (often after x number of games)
The course fee covers the initial online modules and examination, plus the in-person course attendance, plus first season registration with the CFA. The RA have also added first season free membership recently.
In my county we have a waiting list, and we run around 16/18 courses each year. Retention rates are improving (partly because Duke of Edinburgh Awards seekers can get their points more cheaply and quickly nowadays, so go for alternatives)
 
ChasObserverRefDeveloper said:
The cost of running courses has increased over recent times, partly because an indoor facility and an external field of play (preferably 3G) are now needed, and 3G rental is very expensive.
Some CFA's offer a cashback deal after the learner completes a specified number of games, and others have financing deals with Academies, clubs, leagues, etc., enabling a discount (often after x number of games)
The course fee covers the initial online modules and examination, plus the in-person course attendance, plus first season registration with the CFA. The RA have also added first season free membership recently.
In my county we have a waiting list, and we run around 16/18 courses each year. Retention rates are improving (partly because Duke of Edinburgh Awards seekers can get their points more cheaply and quickly nowadays, so go for alternatives)
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Also because they have to be delivered by licensed FA Tutors, and that was obviously going to add to the cost when it changed from volunteers and RDOs delivering it.
 
Is this the same FA that has millions of pounds to spend from funding and sponsorships?

Where does the money go?

Yet referees cannot be trained for a token amound.
 
Kent Ref said:
Is this the same FA that has millions of pounds to spend from funding and sponsorships?

Where does the money go?

Yet referees cannot be trained for a token amound.
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Think you are confusing the FA and the Premier League. In any case, referee courses are delivered by CFAs and they are generally not for profit organisations. Their income has to match their expenditure, so if courses cost more to put on they have no choice but to charge more for them.
 
RustyRef said:
Think you are confusing the FA and the Premier League. In any case, referee courses are delivered by CFAs and they are generally not for profit organisations. Their income has to match their expenditure, so if courses cost more to put on they have no choice but to charge more for them.
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Over the years the amount of funds given to CFAs by the FA has only gone one way - down.

I was told "real time funding" was down 25% on 8 years ago. Costs have risen and funding has dropped.

This cannot go on but it will. Grassroots is mega under-funded and i sympathise with the CFAs but those with the money are not supporting grassroots football.

Eventually CFAs will have to join together in 2s or 3s to save money - i was told that a while ago by a man i knew well on one of the FA committees. But it has not happened - yet.

Just a matter of time.
 
Kent Ref said:
Over the years the amount of funds given to CFAs by the FA has only gone one way - down.

I was told "real time funding" was down 25% on 8 years ago. Costs have risen and funding has dropped.

This cannot go on but it will. Grassroots is mega under-funded and i sympathise with the CFAs but those with the money are not supporting grassroots football.

Eventually CFAs will have to join together in 2s or 3s to save money - i was told that a while ago by a man i knew well on one of the FA committees. But it has not happened - yet.

Just a matter of time.
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But the FA are essentially a not for profit organisation as well. If they were making profits where is it going, in any organisation it would be to the shareholders and they don't have any. I completely agree that there needs to be a better distribution of funds in the game, and perhaps the regulator will help with that, but you are really firing your barbs in the wrong direction. If the funding to CFAs has gone down it is because FA funds have gone down, the money is elsewhere.

And that isn't me defending the FA, as I firmly believe it is them abjectly failing to do their job that has led to the need for an independent regulator. The FA should be the regulator, that is what they were set up for, but they essentially washed their hands of it when the Premier League was created.
 
RustyRef said:
Also because they have to be delivered by licensed FA Tutors, and that was obviously going to add to the cost when it changed from volunteers and RDOs delivering it.
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That change happened quite some time ago (I was a volunteer tutor for many years) and was mainly driven by the fact that coaches training new or less experienced colleagues were paid, whereas referee tutors/instructors (now "Referee Developers") were not. Sadly that did impact the cost of running courses.
 
ChasObserverRefDeveloper said:
That change happened quite some time ago (I was a volunteer tutor for many years) and was mainly driven by the fact that coaches training new or less experienced colleagues were paid, whereas referee tutors/instructors (now "Referee Developers") were not. Sadly that did impact the cost of running courses.
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I know, but it was the initial cause of a steep rise in the cost
 
Homer Ref said:
For those North of the border, the SFA are offering a 50% discount in July...

£25 instead of £50.

50% Discount on Refereeing Online Course for July

To mark the start of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, you can secure a 50% discount on the online course during July and start your refereeing journey.
www.scottishfa.co.uk www.scottishfa.co.uk
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Appears to be for females only, and is only online, so no comparison with the English courses - but good value nonetheless.
 
ChasObserverRefDeveloper said:
Appears to be for females only, and is only online, so no comparison with the English courses - but good value nonetheless.
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Is there a shortage of female referees in Scotland? The advert suggests not - so why the discount for woemn only?

With more female referees joining the game than ever before, you can take your first steps into refereeing here with our online course this month for just £25.
 
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