How to find a referee with Centre Circle

The most reliable and safest way to secure a referee for your fixture.Your league's games are already on the app, qualified local referees pick them up, and parents and guardians are kept in the loop at every step. Here's how it works, from download to appointed official.

Get the app

Centre Circle is free for grassroots football. Download it from your phone's app store.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Sign up as a team manager

Create your account, choose Team Manager, pick your team. Your club confirms it's you, and you're in.

Watch: sign up as a team manager
Full instructions
  1. Open the app and tap Create Account, then fill in your details across the two pages.
  2. Confirm your account using the link we email you, then reopen the app.
  3. When asked "Who is this account for?", choose "I'm signing up as myself". On the role selector, choose Team Manager and tap Next.
  4. Search for your team and select it.
  5. Your account is held until your club verifies you. Once that's done, you're ready to go.
Taking a while to be verified? If your account is still held after a couple of days, drop us a line at support@centrecircleapp.com with your name and team, and we'll get you sorted.
Club secretary rather than a manager? You can sign up without the app at portal.centrecircleapp.com, choose the Club Secretary role and search for your club.

Your fixtures appear automatically

Nothing to type in. If your league runs on Centre Circle, fixtures arrive on their own with dates, kick-off times and venues already filled in.

Fixture missing?
Fixture missing? Email support@centrecircleapp.com with your league name and, if you can, a link to the fixture on FA Full-Time. We'll chase it down.

Find a referee

Open the fixture, tap Find a ref, set the fee. Local referees see the game and pick it up. The home side runs the search.

Watch: find a referee
Full instructions
  1. Open the fixture in the app.
  2. Scroll to Officials. If nobody is appointed you'll see Find a ref. Tap it.
  3. Select the role you need and add the fee. You can advertise more than one role at once, for example a referee and an assistant.
  4. Start the search. You'll see Finding Officials while the game is advertised.
  5. Local referees see the game in the app and pick it up. You'll be notified when someone takes it.
About fees: where your league sets fees per division, those fees are fixed and can't be changed when you advertise.
Away game with no referee? Only the home side can advertise the fixture, so give the home manager a nudge and point them at this page.

Confirm the match details

A few days before kick-off, the home manager confirms venue, times and kits in one tap. Everyone gets the details in the match chat.

Watch: pre-match confirmation
Full instructions
  1. Open the fixture and tap the flagged Pre-Match Confirmation.
  2. Check the venue, arrival time, kick-off time and kits.
  3. Add a contact number and any instructions, like parking or pitch access.
  4. Tap Confirm.
  5. A confirmation message goes automatically to the match chat with the opposition and the officials.

Contact your officials

The referee's contact details live inside the fixture, and the match chat reaches everyone in one place.

Watch: contact an official
Full instructions
  1. Open the fixture.
  2. Scroll to Officials.
  3. Tap the referee's name to see their contact details.
Good to know: the match chat created at pre-match confirmation includes the officials too, so you can message everyone in one place.

Safeguarding is built in

Centre Circle is designed for youth football, so parents and guardians are kept in the loop by default:

  • If an official on your game is under 18, their parent or guardian is automatically included in the match chat, as they are in all communications on the platform.
  • Every match report includes an urgent support flag. If the referee raises it, Centre Circle, the league and the County FA are alerted straight away, along with the referee's guardian if they are under 18.

Made by Centre Circle, the free grassroots football platform.