Flemish sports federations seek young and female referees

Three out of four sports federations in Flanders want more diversity in their referee corps and are looking for more women and young people to join. That shows a survey by the Flemish Sports Federation, the umbrella organisation for Flemish sports federations. According to the organisation, the government can also help attract more diverse referees.

In three out of four Flemish sports federations, the referee corps consists mainly of men and the average referee in Flanders today is a white man in his fifties. To make their referee corps more diverse, sports federations are looking for more women, but also more young people. Eight out of ten federations however fail to find enough young people, noted the Flemish Sports Federation.

A lot of initiatives have already been taken, stated Sara Pannecoucke of the umbrella organisation. She pointed to the Female Referee Project of Basket Vlaanderen, which tries to enthuse more women and girls to become basketball referees, and to an initiative of Voetbal Vlaanderen, which brought together all football referees with a migration background to draw up a plan for a more diverse referee team.

But Pannecoucke acknowledged that “there is still room for improvement”. According to her, the government can help out. “A feasible and affordable remuneration system that does not involve extra red tape would already increase the popularity of the statute of referees,” she declared. “The further expansion of flexi-jobs can also help.” The so-called flexi-job scheme allows people who already have a job or are retired to work on the side without being taxed.

From 5 to 13 October, the Week of the Official takes place in Flanders. As part of this and to highlight the importance of referees in amateur sport, the Flemish Sports Federation is organising an election for the “Official Personality” of the year for the second time. The various sports federations in Flanders have selected their candidates over the past few weeks and from this weekend everyone can vote for their favourite via www.weekvandeofficial.be.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Referee Magali Sergeant reacts during a hockey game between Racing and Waterloo Ducks, 15 September 2024 in Ghent © BELGA PHOTO JOHN THYS}