Many advertisements in the media end with a conditional sentence 'If you think you are suitable apply'.

It is exactly the same for those who have an inclination to lead others and are therefore tailor-made to lead 22 players onto a football ground.

In this small nation of ours there are many leagues played under the aegis of the Malta Football Association. This necessitates the continual recruitment of men and women who are prepared to sit for a course on the Laws of the Game and then don a uniform to start controlling junior matches and so start their climb up the ladder.

This could eventually lead them to the international list.

The place of new recruits in the association is important as we must remember that no official match can be played without a duly qualified referee.

Hard work in the sense of organised and regular physical training, the attendance at monthly meetings, where the Laws of the Game are discussed, and the interpretation of particular filmed incidents in local and foreign matches are but a few of the items which fall under the Referees Department of the MFA.

Naturally, mental preparation and nutrition are also two aspects which are dealt with.

Rapport

Obviously, it is not only work and no play as members of the Malta Football Referees Association meet up in social activities that help referees and their families to establish a rapport among themselves.

Referees are looked after through a Mentors System, but, as from this year, the junior referees will also be given special attention by a newly-created Youth Development Unit.

This ensures that the trainee referee has a point of reference with whom he/she can discuss any difficulties in football refereeing.

A new course for referees is to start on October 12.