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The Referees' Association Head Office

Unit 12, Ensign Business Centre

Westwood Way

Westwood Business Park

Westwood Heath

COVENTRY CV4 8JA

Email Address: ra@footballreferee.org

Phone: 02476 420360

Fax: 02477 677234

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IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT RA-FA

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THE REFEREES’ ASSOCIATION

The Referees’ Association (RA) is an organised group of people involved with refereeing, which is run by referees for the benefit of referees and is administered from the Head Office in Coventry.

The RA is organised into 306 local Societies in 3 Countries and most of it’s 13,500 members only experience their local Society, but are safe in the knowledge that all have the support of the County and National structures.

Men and women take up refereeing for a number of reasons; some are frustrated footballers while others have come to the end of their playing careers and have decided to put something back into the game.

Some start their refereeing at school, whilst others begin a career with the whistle later in life. A very small number will go to the very top and reach the FA Premier League or International level either as a Referee or as an Assistant Referee, but most will be active on the local parks or somewhere in between.

It would be fair to say that referees referee because they enjoy it. All referees however are professional in that they receive a fee for their services, and it is only right therefore that referees show a professional attitude.

There are several benefits of membership of The Referees' Association. The RA provides a low cost Insurance Policy, various training and information publications, a Benevolent Fund for those members who are in need, and, most importantly, through our network of local Societies the RA encourages discussion on the game, not only amongst members but also with various footballing bodies.

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Insurance

The RA operates an extremely low cost Personal Accident Insurance scheme for members which is currently £4.00 per year and which provides insurance cover whilst travelling directly to, from and during a game, whilst on recognised Referees' Society business, and also for the theft of refereeing equipment to the value of £200. The weekly benefits provided are at the rate of £100 per week if a referee is injured as a result of an accident.

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Products and Publications

The RA stocks an extensive range of good quality kit and accessories at competitive prices. Further details of these products and services are given on the RA shop pages, which are devoted specifically to those items. www.rashop.co.uk

Benevolent Fund

The RA hopes that members never need assistance from the Benevolent Fund, but sadly some members do fall on hard times and are in need. Whatever the reason for this need the Benevolent Fund is there to assist all members.

Local Societies

Local Societies operate like a self-help group where referees meet together to discuss different aspects of the game, and to learn from and with each other to improve their refereeing skills. By discussing refereeing issues with colleagues from different levels of the game, members are able learn from the experiences of others and to implement methods of best practice which will improve match day performance and increase enjoyment from the game.

As a referee, you will benefit from the skills, protection, peace of mind, training and, above all, the camaraderie that membership of the Referees' Association will give. The RA believe that everyone involved in refereeing should be a member.

RA EVENTS

EVE OF FINAL RALLY

The RA hold a number of events during the year, one of these being the Eve of Final Rally held in London, where you can meet the FA Cup Final officials on the evening before their big game. At this event you can mingle freely with the top officials in the country, past and present.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Another increasingly popular event is the Annual Conference. As at the Eve of Final Rally, you will be mingling with referees from every level of the game - from Level 9 up to FIFA level! One of the highlights of the conference is the workshops, which are all highly interactive. In recent years this event has become very popular with the young referees, who take full advantage of the opportunities to get tips from the officials at the highest level of the game.