League appointed referees are not common in the development leagues (so up to and including U11) but then gradually become the norm in the older competitive leagues (so U12 and older).
Where the league does not appoint a referee, the home team has to provide one. This is usually a coach or parent volunteer and they do it for free. From time to time, some of our players who are over 14 train as referees and so can be available to referee younger age groups. After the disruption of the last few seasons, we don’t really have any right now but we’ll let you know if any of our players qualify as referees later this season…
Where the league appoints a referee, the home Team Manager needs to contact him or her 5 days before the match to confirm venue and kick off time. Referee contact details will be in the FA Full Time e-mail which Team Managers receive and should also be visible on FA Full Time if you click on your fixture.
Team Managers need to pay their league-appointed referee on the day (before kick off usually) and then claim back the fee from myfctreasurer@myfc.me.uk ideally with a completed receipt which has been signed by the referee. A template receipt is attached here for this purpose. The fee differs between leagues and age groups (higher fee for older age groups) but there is a fixed match fee and then an allowance for travel (usually 27p per mile) which is capped.
If your home fixture gets moved, postponed or cancelled and you have a league-appointed referee, don’t forget to tell them!