There were certainly no sendings off when FA Referee Scott Mathieson made a whistle stop visit to Cheadle & Marple Sixth Form College to participate in a question and answer session with students studying the FA’s Leadership Through Football qualification. The College has scored yet another success to be amongst the first in the Northwest to offer its students this highly regarded and prestigious course with access to the best resources in all aspects of the game. As Paul Kirkham, A Licensed Coach and ex Stalybridge and Hyde United centre forward, now Head Coach at the College’s Marple campus, explained,

“I was invited by the FA, along with Ian Scott, our Head Coach at the Cheadle campus, to attend the tutoring course for this qualification and we have now included it in our Football Excellence course. Leadership Through Football has been designed to be learner centred and is made up of four units, one of which is refereeing so we were delighted that Scott agreed to share his knowledge and expertise with the students. For us, it’s all about real life stories and Scott is a Stockport man with a refereeing career that spans 18 years in the both the Football League and Premier League.

He continued,

“Scott wowed the students and they were so intrigued to find out the most up to date information regarding a referee’s preparation and planning. The stories he told were superb and many students were exceptionally keen to keep in touch with him to further develop their refereeing skills starting with junior football which also runs parallel with this course. We are exclusive in our offer, providing the highest level of tuition and access to highly qualified and motivational speakers such as Scott.”

Scott’s career started when he spotted an advert in the Stockport Express inviting prospective referees to join a course. The former right winger who had trials for Stockport County went along and was smitten. Rapid progress followed through the Mid Cheshire and Northern Premier leagues and Conference and onto the League line in 1990 before officiating at Carlisle United versus Wigan Athletic four seasons later as his first appointment as a National League Football Referee.

“I have been extremely fortunate in my career,” said Scott. “For me, the most memorable games that I have officiated at include a couple of appointments at Wembley in 2010 for the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final between Southampton and Carlisle and the FA Carlsberg Vase Final. I’ve also officiated abroad in Europe. I have been impressed with the level of questioning and interest shown by the students today. It’s very important for young up and coming footballers and referees to be role models. At the end of the day it is down to the individual to give wholehearted commitment to any course and the achievement and the benefits will always result in that individual going a long way. I wish all the students every success in whichever aspect of the game they choose to follow.”

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Jack Mansfield, 17, from Birch Vale and Sam Holtham, 17, from Stockport are budding referees and both studying BTec Sport alongside their Football Excellence courses,

“I am playing and coaching football at the same time,” said Jack. “Because I play both for the College and at club level, I have been able to develop my knowledge about refereeing and put it into practice through refereeing games where I coach. I’ve been fortunate enough to referee Under 14s girls’ football matches and Under 15s boys’ football in league matches and friendlies, allowing me to enforce different rules and laws of the game. For me, listening to Scott’s experiences was invaluable as I would also like to develop a career progressing up the refereeing ladder.”

Sam is already a fully qualified Sunday League referee and has gained a reputation for being fair and consistent,

“I’m invited to officiate quite often and what started as a hobby has now become a career path for me and I would love to progress on to the highest level that I can achieve to referee in the Football League or even the Premiership. Scott’s presentation was fantastic and he is such a superb role model that I really want to aspire to.”

The Football Excellence programme allows students to combine full-time education with professional training so that they can develop their skills both as a player and a coach. Students participate in a weekly professional training programme and elite players are selected for the College squad which has experienced considerable success over recent seasons. The programme includes Coaching awards, first aid and child protection training. Former students have completed work experience with Manchester United Soccer Schools, Manchester City’s Junior Academy and gone on to play semi-professional football while others have progressed to scholarships in the USA. Further information about the course or applications is available from Admissions, Cheadle 0161 486 4602 or Marple 0161 484 6602 or visit the website www.camsfc.ac.uk