Worcestershire FA is delighted to announce that a number of referees have been promoted as a result of their performance during the 2017-18 marking season.

Three referees have been nominated to The Football Association for promotion from level 5 to 4. James Claytor (Worcester), Ryan Price (Hagley) and Paul Sparrow (Evesham) met the criteria for nomination to become Supply League Referees. The final decision will now be taken by The Football Association in the coming weeks and we hope that all three receive good news. If successful, James, Ryan and Paul will referee Midland Football League matches as well as West Midlands (Regional) League fixtures.

There were also a number of in-county promotions confirmed with immediate effect.

Four match officials were successful in their quest to move from level 6 to 5, becoming Senior County Referees. Daniel Ellis (Bromsgrove), James Green (Worcester), Craig Penney (Worcester) and Jack Rose (Kidderminster) all met the relevant criteria and have been promoted.  

There was also an accelerated promotion for Garrath Hodgetts (Worcester). Garrath becomes the first Worcestershire FA referee for a number of years to achieve a ‘double-jump’ – moving from level 7 to level 5 in one season.  

Three referees also achieved the first step on the promotion ladder by moving from level 7 to level 6. Vladimir Aleksandrov (Evesham), Glenn Turner (Bromsgrove) and Jack Whatmore (Kidderminster) were all successful.

Alongside this success, there were also some referees who will be disappointed in not achieving promotion. However, the challenge for them is to utilise the development advice offered throughout the season in order to achieve their aspirations moving forward.

Congratulations to all of our match officials who were successful in achieving promotion. 

The 2018-19 marking season for referees is already underway with a record number of 29 promotion seeking referees.  

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