Northamptonshire County FA is delighted to be welcoming referees from the Norwegian CORE (Centre of Refereeing Excellence) programme for a week of training at Moulton College, which is intended to develop officials from both the NORCORE programme and the County FA’s CORE Academy.

The referees arrived on Thursday 22 March and will undertake several indoor and outdoor training sessions, oversee a number of local games and attend a Northants FA CORE meeting before returning home on Wednesday 28 March.

The training sessions at Moulton College will include classroom-based post-match debriefs led by Norwegian FA performance coaches, whilst the outdoor sessions will focus on fitness and specific match-based scenarios to improve the referees’ development in targeted areas.  

Northamptonshire FA has organised for the Norwegian officials to referee a number of local games during the trip. On Saturday morning (24 March), a team of three will oversee a Northampton Town U16 fixture, whilst two assistant referees will be in operation at the clash between Northampton Town U18s and Yeovil Town U18s. 

Several other games over the course of the weekend - including Rushden & Higham United v Blackstones, Leicester City Ladies v Northampton Town Ladies and Huntingdon Town U18s v Rothwell Corinthians U18s – will also be overseen by the NORCORE officials, before they attend a Northants FA CORE meeting at Moulton College on Tuesday evening (27 March), in what promises to be an insightful event of learning and development.

James Campbell, Northants FA CORE Academy Co-ordinator, said: “This exchange provides an excellent platform to develop both Norwegian and Northamptonshire Academy Referees. By undertaking joint physical and classroom learning as well as officiating on local games, this opportunity will benefit each referee’s personal and professional development. 

“The NORCORE programme is similar to the Northamptonshire FA CORE and Academy programme so we look forward to learning and sharing ideas with our Norwegian colleagues. We trust they have a positive experience in Northamptonshire whilst securing a long term exchange programme.”

Luke Scott, Northants FA Referee Development Officer, added: “Northamptonshire FA is very excited to be welcoming members of the Norwegian CORE programme to the county.  This is a fantastic opportunity to build a long, mutually beneficial relationship with the Norwegian officials, and put the development work that the Northants FA Referee Development Team does on the map.  

“We are extremely grateful for James Campbell’s efforts in helping to organise this exchange, and it is really pleasing to see so many leagues (The United Counties League, East Midlands Women’s League and the Northants Senior Youth League) helping us make this a success, and a special mention must go to Mouton College and Northampton Town Academy for being so accommodating.”

To find out more about the programme, or to learn more about refereeing in Northamptonshire, please contact Luke Scott on Luke.Scott@NorthantsFA.com or 01604 678401.