New ground has been broken as Kent hosts its first course for referees from black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds.

Day one took place at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Gravesend on Thursday and the course concludes today.

It’s part of the FA’s three-year national refereeing strategy, launched at the start of last season, to increase numbers.

Raj Randhawa, the FA’s refereeing equality, diversity and inclusion delivery manager, has been working closely with the Kent FA to make the course happen.

He said: “One of the key objectives of the strategy is to increase representation of black, Asian and mixed heritage populations and essentially that is my job.

“I’ve got to make sure that I bring referees from these populations into the world of refereeing but also make sure they stick as referees and provide any support they need.

“Across the country, I’ve been delivering referee courses that are specifically for these populations to get involved in.

“We’ve tried to make sure they are in the communities of ethnically diverse areas, and we’re trying to deliver the courses in some very unique settings as well, where traditionally and historically we’ve never been before.

“It’s the first time we’re delivering a course in Kent but also the other added factor is we’re delivering a referee course in a place of worship at the Sikh Gurdwara.

“Hopefully we can use that example in the next season where we can deliver referee courses maybe in a Hindu mandir or a mosque.”

Sixteen people signed up to the Kent course - encouraging numbers for the organisers.

Randhawa added: “I rely on the county FA network, so the courses that are specifically for black, Asian and mixed heritage populations can’t exist without the good work of the county FAs.

“I’ve been working with the Kent FA specifically on this Gurdwara course from the start of this season and even towards the back end of last season just to try and make sure we can get everything prepared, we can network with the right community groups, speak to the venue, understand any religious customs we need to be aware of, and also work with some key community leaders who can bring individuals that are thinking about refereeing where we can encourage them to sign up for the course and really give it a go.

“The conversation with Kent has been a long one, a very positive one and it’s really exciting to get to this week where we are delivering the course at the Sikh Gurdwara.

“It’s an exciting landmark in the world of refereeing.”

The picture nationally is looking really promising, with the aim of recruiting an additional 1,000 referees from black, Asian and mixed heritage referees smashed in year one of strategy.

Indeed, Randhawa and the FA are working on new targets.

He stresses there’s plenty more to be done but it’s clear the FA’s work is starting to pay off.

“Initially, it seems like a challenge but what I do believe is maybe the opportunity hasn’t been there [in the past] and I’m in situ to provide those opportunities to the wider communities and provide settings that are safe and inclusive for those communities to not feel isolated on a course because that’s one of the bigger barriers,” said Randhawa.

“Financially was a barrier as well but we’ve deployed a bursary scheme to help people get on to a course and we’ve deployed a support mechanism through county FAs, through myself, through some current referees in the system, to provide mentor support.

“What we’ve found is that maybe we never had those key pillars in situ to ensure we can attract match officials from these populations.

“But now we’ve got that, essentially the interest has been there and it’s quite exciting to see and hear that we’re getting a lot of positive anecdotes from these individuals that are partaking on the course who never thought refereeing could be a career, and they’re absolutely loving it.

“We had a target in the strategy to increase representation of referees from these communities by 1,000.

“We’ve already surpassed that.

“We started at 1,800 at the start of last season and at the end of last season we were on 3,537, so we’ve actually smashed the target of trying to increase that by 1,000 in three years.

“We’re revising our targets and seeing what we can do to be proactive and keep the foot on the pedal because actually there’s a lot of work to be done.

“From a management perspective, I like to be close and personal with these match officials that are getting into the system, that are doing the courses.

“I try and make sure I’m at every course that we deliver nationally so a lot of hard work has gone into it. I’m very proud.

“There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done but we’ve had a good start and built a good foundation for the coming seasons.”

The ultimate aim is to see more black, Asian and mixed heritage referees working at the top of men’s and women’s football.

That’s certainly an ambition for Randhawa - and there’s no reason why it can’t be achieved.

Initially, though, it’s about continuing to increase numbers at grassroots levels.

“What we want to do first of all is grow the pool of match officials from black, Asian and mixed heritage populations because that pool wasn’t there historically,” said Randhawa.

“In order for us to address the challenges and issues, say, in the Premier League and Women’s Super League, to get representation from these communities, we have to increase that national pool.

“There are obviously a lot of development programmes that county FAs do to provide referee development for these match officials.

“We’ve also set up alongside the PGMOL an initiative called FA CORE X which is a super-charging development of black, Asian and mixed heritage match officials to ensure they can break into that professional game.

“There is a hope that in 15, 20, 30 years down the line, a person that gets access to a bursary and does a course will be gracing the field in a Premier League game or a WSL game.

“That’s the long-term thinking behind this as well.

“There isn’t really [any reason why it can’t happen] and what we’re trying to do is make the refereeing pathway more like the personal responsibility of match officials, so a match official has control of their journey.

“What I say to people embarking on the journey, and who want to progress, is referee as many games as possible, make sure you access CPD (continued professional development) from your local county FAs, make sure you access development groups and any other development opportunities.

“Essentially the destiny is in your hands as well and what we’ve tried to do with the new refereeing pathway, it’s a lot slicker in terms of gaining promotion.

“Historically, you have to wait all season to be assessed, to understand whether you can promoted or not, but there’s in-season promotions now so a person can progress even faster as well.”