The Essex County Referees’ Association (ECRA) is affiliated to the national body, the Referees Association (RA). For over 100 years, the ECRA has looked after the interests of referees within the county and helped in providing post-graduate training to cover the finer aspects of the laws of the game, giving assistance whenever needed.

The main aims of the association are to:

(i) recruit new members
(ii) improve the status and standard of referees
(iii) protect members from injustice or unfair treatment
(iv) assist and take action, legal or otherwise (with the assistance of the RA where necessary), on behalf of any member who has been unfairly treated
(v) promote the interests of referees in general

Both The FA and the Essex County FA strongly recommend that every referee should become a member of the RA. The first year is free, and the County RA will automatically enrol new referees!

In Essex there are seven Local RAs affiliated to the County RA, and they hold monthly meetings throughout the season. At these meetings, guest speakers are invited, in-service training is held to give members the opportunity to refresh and improve their knowledge of the laws, and opportunities are given for members to discuss any problems that they may have encountered during the course of their games.

Please Note: Any member wishing to attend any of the above local RA meetings below should firstly contact the secretary as dates and venues could be subject to change. All meetings are held virtually until further notice.