Walking Football is thriving in Derbyshire with countless people taking part at local pay and play sessions, organised festival events and Derbyshire Walking Football League fixtures.

In line with this growth there became a need for Walking Football specialised Referees and until now there had only been two referees available in Derbyshire. To increase this number, two workshops were organised and delivered by The Derbyshire County FA.

Lauren Mellor, Football Development Officer at Derbyshire County FA commented; "The Walking Football Referee workshops were brilliant and it’s great that twenty five individuals have showed an interest in refereeing Walking Football.

"Following the workshops candidates will have a basic understanding of the playing rules and how to implement these as a referee.

"They won’t be experts after two hours, but they are now equipped with the foundations of refereeing and they will definitely add value to the Derbyshire Walking Football Programme".

The workshop was delivered over a two hour period with candidates learning the following:

• How to start a game of football with the two captains.
• How to conduct the coin toss before the game and the decisions with the coin toss.
• Key signals when refereeing.
• The use of verbal and none verbal communication.
• Positioning on the pitch.
• Asserting authority.
• Indirect and direct free kicks.
• Penalty kicks.
• Implementing the Laws of the Game.

All candidates had an opportunity to referee at the workshop and key learning points were discussed as a group to ensure all participants had gained knowledge and understanding.

Ryan Haynes, Referee Development Officer at Derbyshire County FA delivered the workshop and said; "I was really impressed with the knowledge that the candidates had and this allowed us to focus on how to apply the laws of the game.

"Walking Football has really taken off in Derbyshire and it’s important that we train officials to meet the growing demand.

"It’s great to welcome 25 new faces to the refereeing family".

The delivery of these walking football referee workshops is a new development in Derbyshire and it demonstrates Derbyshire County FA's commitment to delivering programmes in a modern and flexible way to meet the needs of customers.