Football Queensland (FQ) has today released the 2024-2026 Referee Strategy, designed to deliver a strong and clear direction for referee recruitment, development and retention in the coming years.
The release of the 2024-2026 Referee Strategy follows the success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ and aims to build on the tournament’s momentum to meet the growing appetite for the game in Queensland.
“We are excited to unveil the 2024-2026 Referee Strategy as Football Queensland outlines a clear and innovative vision for referee growth in our state,” FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci said.
“Coming off a huge year in 2023, this strategy is designed to meet the sharp increase in club and community participant demand by providing more upskilled, FQ designated match officials to every region in the state.
“Through our One Football, One Team, One Game mentality, Football Queensland’s ambition is to unite the referee community with our player and supporter bases, as we work together to shift to a culture that champions unity, nurtures cohesion and strives towards a collective vision of high performance.”
Designed to support Football Queensland’s 2023-2026 One Football Strategic Plan, the Referee Strategy identifies FQ’s key targets and details their execution across four main pillars; Recruitment & Outreach, Pathways & Opportunities, Retention & Engagement, Training & Development.
The key strategic targets reflect FQ’s aspirations to achieve 50/50 gender parity within the referee cohort by 2027 through an expanded registered referee base of 3,600 statewide including 1,250 more female match officials.
“The Referee Strategy is the result of extensive consultation between FQ and the referee community statewide and sets out to support and prioritise the profound influence match officials have over the long-term success of the game,” General Manager – Strategic Game Development & Referees Andy Allan said.
“Over the next two years, Football Queensland will focus on attracting new talent, developing enabling environments, unifying through consistent opportunities and working collaboratively to build a safe environment statewide for our match officials through the continuation of our Protect Our Game initiative and the dismantling of divisive cultures and ‘us vs them’ mentalities.
“The strategy deliverables work toward creating clear pathways for a thriving, highly skilled and sustainable community of diverse referees through enhanced targeted recruitment, upskilling and retention programs.
“Football Queensland is excited to work alongside our referee community and the broader football community to deliver on the key targets and outcomes set out in the 2024-2026 Referee Strategy as we continue to build a bright future for football in Queensland.”
Download Football Queensland’s 2024-2026 Referee Strategy here.
