Referee Mental Health Champions are here for you! 

The Kent FA takes the mental health and well-being of our referees very seriously. We have two Referee Mental Health Champions volunteers,  Jamie Goldthorp and Phil Knight, who are here to support and signpost Kent grassroots referees to professional services where appropriate. Both Jamie and Phil are actively involved in the Kent grassroots refereeing community and champion the importance of mental wellbeing, encourage conversations and act as points of contact for any match officials aged 18 or over. 
 
We encourage all of our referees to arrange a call with either Jamie or Phil if they require any support. It’s really important that we all pick up the phone and speak to somebody if we are struggling. There is nothing to be worried about and any contact that you make will be kept in strict confidence!

Nick Dunn, Kent FA Referee Development Officer at Kent FA, said: “I’m delighted that as a County FA we are supporting The FA Referees Department in delivering this really important initiative. At a time when mental health is so important, especially during the current challenging times, it’s great that we can offer our entire referee workforce the opportunity to access some additional support. Here at Kent County FA, we have worked extremely hard over the last few years to ensure we support all of our referees and provide the appropriate off-field support, so this further initiative will ensure we can improve our offer of support.”

If you require mental health guidance for referees, feel free to download the FA's guide below.

FA Mental Health Guidance for Referees