Football Queensland (FQ) is making significant strides in transforming development and education processes for match officials across the state, recently piloting its club referee program with Logan Lightning FC and Moreton City Excelsior FC ahead of the program’s expansion in 2025.
In line with FQ’s 2024-2026 Referee Strategy, the club referee program is designed to enhance the development and education of referees within the club environment and referee coverage across Queensland while boosting accessibility to the referee pathway to help grow referee numbers statewide.
“The club referee program delivers significant benefits by boosting community involvement in refereeing, strengthening referee participation and the quality of referee education within our local clubs,” FQ Manager – Referee Development Mark Simon-Green said.
“In addition to strengthening FQ’s referee pathways, the program formalises the process by which local clubs currently appoint club referees, providing structured support and resources to improve each club’s capacity and capability to develop and retain match officials.
“The club referee program will significantly enhance referee coverage and address appointment inefficiencies by enabling young referees to officiate at their own clubs before and after their matches, while also providing focused training and support at a single venue.
“Our initial selection and the success of Logan Lightning and Moreton City Excelsior FC as the two pilot clubs in the program reflected their significant commitment to referee training, evidenced by their large number of participants in referee development programs during the season.
“As we expand the initiative to additional clubs across Queensland in 2025, club referees who are registered to a club will be able to officiate MiniRoos matches and, with the support of a Football Queensland registered match official, also officiate Under 13s, Under 14s, and Under 15s boys’ and girls’ academy and community level junior football matches.
“All clubs who participate in the program from next year will be required to have a designated Club Referee Coordinator responsible for overseeing the appointment of match officials, ensuring ongoing support for referees, and facilitating the smooth rollout and operation of the program.”
