Referee hub launches to support young officials

A new programme hopes to find and develop the next generation of referees and assistant referees.

The University of Gloucestershire and the Rugby Football Union's (RFU) Officiating Hub is the first of its kind in the UK for 16 to 25-year-olds who are match officials across all sports.

Professional football and rugby referees, including current international and Premiership official Christophe Ridley, will contribute to the project.

Mr Ridley, who graduated from the university, said: "It's about enabling an environment for referees to succeed as well for them to grow."

The hub aims to promote the retention of young match officials and the curriculum will develop, mentor and provide ongoing learning opportunities to support their ambitions.

There will also be eight psychologists to help the participants with their resilience during games.

"The beauty of refereeing is that you're not sidelined. You're still in the mix," Mr Ridley said.

"I have no doubt this program is going to make them better referees, better umpires and more employable when they come out of university.

"I have this real hunger to make sure that their experiences are positive."

Emily Hope became an official rugby referee six years ago and has joined the programme to inspire more women to follow in her footsteps.

"It's very eye-opening for me," she said.

"I've been in refereeing and around the culture for a number of years, but to be on the other side of it to bring people in and get them involved, it's quite rewarding.

"As a female myself, I know the struggles."

She said there was still "more work to do" to increase the number of women and girls involved.

"You never know if you never try, just give it a go, keep working hard and enjoy it," she added.

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