A&H

Friendlies

Gabriel

Gabriel

Serial whistler
Level 7 Referee
I'm sure this has probably been covered multiple times, but I just wanted to double check a few things.

1) I know 11v11 football is banned in June (with some exceptions!), is 9v9 and lower still allowed without restriction?
2) Match fees for friendlies - are they the same as the league(s) of the clubs or are they mutually agreed between the ref and the clubs?
3) How do I know if the clubs are affiliated with The FA? I know I could be suspended if they aren't so just wanted to know how to check this.

Thanks!
 
A&H International
Gabriel said:
is 9v9 and lower still allowed without restriction?
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As far as I believe the ban only includes 11v11 football meaning 9v9 and mini soccer like tournaments are fine.
Gabriel said:
Match fees for friendlies - are they the same as the league(s) of the clubs or are they mutually agreed between the ref and the clubs?
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Most clubs will naturally pay the same as they would normally but before you commit yourself make sure you confirm ( e.g “just to confirm referee fee will be usual rate of £25 for u14’s”)
 
Jed said:
As far as I believe the ban only includes 11v11 football meaning 9v9 and mini soccer like tournaments are fine.

Most clubs will naturally pay the same as they would normally but before you commit yourself make sure you confirm ( e.g “just to confirm referee fee will be usual rate of £25 for u14’s”)
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Thanks! On a side note, is £25 the usual fee in many youth leagues? In mine, I'd be expecting £32 for an U14's, but £25 seems to come up a lot with other leagues.
 
Gabriel said:
How do I know if the clubs are affiliated with The FA? I know I could be suspended if they aren't so just wanted to know how to check this.
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I know most youth clubs don’t let the CFA know about friendlies but chances are If they ask you to ref you have reffed them in a league game before suggesting they are affiliated.

Although if the club lets the CFA know about the friendly usually the CFA will appoint a referee meaning you can rest assure that both clubs are affiliated
 
No rest for the wicked. I am refereeing non-stop in the 'off-season' thanks to the military exception... and I love it.
 
OldNavyRef said:
No rest for the wicked. I am refereeing non-stop in the 'off-season' thanks to the military exception... and I love it.
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I cannot begin to describe my jealousy. I haven’t been out on the pitch since March/April time and I’m beginning to really miss it!
 
Gabriel said:
I cannot begin to describe my jealousy. I haven’t been out on the pitch since March/April time and I’m beginning to really miss it!
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I’m lucky I had a tournament a week and a half ago, got one at the start or June and the end of June as it stands, alongside this I’m playing for a team in there tournament within the next month alone
 
Jed said:
So does your standard CFA do the military league or is it army fa etc?
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Emails go out saying matches are available on these dates at these locations from the Ref Sec. Then you just reply and hope you get picked.

There is no additional pay (because you are being paid already), and mileage is covered.
 
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Once you get to level 4 and above, expect a cut in match fee for friendlies (or no mileage to be paid). Is it right? Probably not. But certainly round here, if you want to get friendlies in at your level and build good rapport with clubs, taking a smaller fee is expected.
 
RefereeX said:
Once you get to level 4 and above, expect a cut in match fee for friendlies (or no mileage to be paid). Is it right? Probably not. But certainly round here, if you want to get friendlies in at your level and build good rapport with clubs, taking a smaller fee is expected.
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That’s really interesting actually because at mine and @Gabriel level it would be standard for usual match fee. Would you mind sharing what percentage on average cut you would see and does is get wrose every time you go up a level?
 
RefereeX said:
Once you get to level 4 and above, expect a cut in match fee for friendlies (or no mileage to be paid). Is it right? Probably not. But certainly round here, if you want to get friendlies in at your level and build good rapport with clubs, taking a smaller fee is expected.
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Our friendlies are still appointed by our county appointment officer to make sure they are spread around evenly, fairly, and the appropriate level of match official is appointed to the game.
Yes, the fees are a lower, but these are tune up matches so we also get that little bit extra from them.
Also get some good opportunities in the offseason, I've been 4th official on a league 1 (at the time) V championship game and have refereed a step 4 Vs league 1 team. Opportunities that just wouldn't exist in the normal season.
 
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JamesL said:
Our friendlies are still appointed by our county appointment officer to make sure they are spread around evenly, fairly, and the appropriate level of match official is appointed to the game.
Yes, the fees are a lower, but three are tune up matches so we also get that little bit extra from them.
Also get some good opportunities in the offseason, I've been 4th official on a league 1 (at the time) V championship game and have refereed a step 4 Vs league 1 team. Opportunities that just wouldn't exist in the normal season.
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It excellent if you can get fourth official experience in at preseason because most CFA appoint fourth officials to their county cup finals and when you don’t know what your doing it’s an somewhat awkward job, but if you have that experience it’s a lot easier

I’ve been a fourth official once and it was a youth cup final and it was so hard controlling subs. But from that experience I feel a lot more confident doing it next time. And because I’ve done it, the biggest thing that helped me control subs was knowing who was coming on two or three minutes before the subs. I done this by often asking the managers throughout the game if they were planning on making a sub in the next 5 or by just saying to them “if your going to make a sub just let me know early please”
 
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Jed said:
That’s really interesting actually because at mine and @Gabriel level it would be standard for usual match fee. Would you mind sharing what percentage on average cut you would see and does is get wrose every time you go up a level?
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I can't speak for higher levels, but some step 5/6 clubs round here will only pay £40 all in fee, where as in their league it would be a £60 all in fee.
I also did a National League North club vs a step 3 club the season before last and think I took a total fee of £60 home.

JamesL said:
Our friendlies are still appointed by our county appointment officer to make sure they are spread around evenly, fairly, and the appropriate level of match official is appointed to the game.
Yes, the fees are a lower, but these are tune up matches so we also get that little bit extra from them.
Also get some good opportunities in the offseason, I've been 4th official on a league 1 (at the time) V championship game and have refereed a step 4 Vs league 1 team. Opportunities that just wouldn't exist in the normal season.
Click to expand...

This sounds like an excellent policy. Unfortunately round here clubs just contact referees they know well who will then divvy games out that they don't want to do themselves. Last season I didn't referee a single pre-season because the 3 that I had offered to me were all postponed.
I'm going to be writing to clubs I've refereed shortly and offering my services, but would be nice to pick up some higher level opportunities too.
 
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Gabriel said:
I'm sure this has probably been covered multiple times, but I just wanted to double check a few things.

1) I know 11v11 football is banned in June (with some exceptions!), is 9v9 and lower still allowed without restriction?
2) Match fees for friendlies - are they the same as the league(s) of the clubs or are they mutually agreed between the ref and the clubs?
3) How do I know if the clubs are affiliated with The FA? I know I could be suspended if they aren't so just wanted to know how to check this.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
A tiny bit off topic, and I’m sure has been posted elsewhere, but how do you guys get involved with summer youth football tournaments/friendlies? I can’t find anywhere that tournaments are looking for refs, and I’m not sure whether or not to chat to my Club sec to see whether he has games? Thanks for your help in advance everyone
 
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MarcusLoveRef said:
I tiny bit off topic, and I’m sure has been posted elsewhere, but how do you guys get involved with summer youth football tournaments/friendlies? I can’t find anywhere that tournaments are looking for refs, and I’m not sure whether or not to chat to my Club sec to see whether he has games?
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I haven't. I know my league had one this weekend in the girls league but there was nothing put on our group chat as referees so I assumed they only asked those people who regularly referee the girls league in their separate chat. Having said that, in the summer I'm just expecting clubs I reffed this season (or last, whichever you wish to call it) to message me as they have been doing that all season for league matches anyway!
 
MarcusLoveRef said:
A tiny bit off topic, and I’m sure has been posted elsewhere, but how do you guys get involved with summer youth football tournaments/friendlies? I can’t find anywhere that tournaments are looking for refs, and I’m not sure whether or not to chat to my Club sec to see whether he has games? Thanks for your help in advance everyone
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Friendlies will come with the good rapport you have with clubs. Out of the 3 tournaments I’ve had/have this preseason, one was appointed by the CFA, one was on our appointment system and one was through contacts I have
 
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