Edition One - James Mainwaring
Here at Bury and North Manchester Referee Association (BNMRA), we are very lucky to boast a number of budding and up-and-coming referees from grassroots and non-league football right through to match officials within the professional game.
In this feature it is our aim to shine the spotlight on our members, to raise their profile and understand what they've achieved so far and what their plans for the future. We will be focusing on those who are happy to share with us their footballing journey, giving us an insight into their motivations, heroes (yes, referees have them, too) and anything else they would like to tell us.
Edition One:
To kick off this new feature, we put the focus on Premier League and FIFA Assistant Referee, James Mainwaring, who provides us with a snapshot of what life is like at the top and what the journey was like to get there.
Premier League and FIFA Assistant Referee - James Mainwaring
Growing up in Lancashire, James was just 14-years-old when he made the decision to pick up the whistle and try his hand at refereeing. However, before taking the course he used to referee the Under 7's for the club he used to play for. James would help the club on a Saturday morning, setting the goals up, referee the game, and then play his own game in the afternoon. After a while he was told by a qualified referee on the next pitch that he should take the course.
James went to the same school as current Premier League match official Nick Greenhalgh, and at the time, Nick's parents were involved with the local junior league. They had been in partnership with Manchester FA, offering some referee courses so a group of his friends from school got involved and took the course.
Fast forward to today, currently officiating as a Select Group 1 Assistant Referee, James, 36, has become a regular feature on the weekly appointments list in the Premier League but it has taken years of hard work, sacrifice and dedication to get to the position he is in now.
We put forward a few questions to James to give us an idea on his journey up until the present day.
What adversities have you had to overcome, if any, to get to where you are now?
"Many! I've shared the same frustrations as most...missing out on promotion, injuries, challenges with clubs and observers, we all face a similar set of situations throughout our careers.
There are always sliding doors moments in our careers, though. I remember drafting an email as a level 3 to say I wouldn't be carrying on the next season. It was my dad who said that all too often people give up not knowing how close they are to achieving their goals. I'm glad I listened to him, and when I talk to those disillusioned with the game or their progress, I try and relay the same message. Keep going, you're closer than you think!"
What was your employment/job before joining PGMOL?
"I had a few. I started at Royal Bank of Scotland where I was a mortgage advisor for a number of years. I then joined Lancashire FA where I was the Referee Development Officer.
At the inception of Select Group 2, and my decision to specialise as an Assistant Referee, I took a role within PGMOL, where I was responsible for the development of their e-learning platform allowing us to increase learning opportunities across the organisation."
Being in the Premier League is an ambition most referees have, what were your first goals and do you still have any?
"At first I would say I didn't really have a goal. I was 14 going from game to game. I remember winning referee of the year for the local junior league and thinking 'I'd like to win that again next year'. So I suppose that was my first real goal.
Sat in Ainsworth Village Hall taking the course, the dream was Premier League, and I am so grateful I have been given the chance to work at the highest level domestically. What I found though is that with every season and/or promotion comes new goals. So I am always looking at 'what’s next'.
I do still have goals I want to achieve. Domestically I would love to officiate the FA Cup Final and Championship Playoff final. These are exciting games for everyone involved, and some of the most important games in the English calendar."
Did you have any 'famous' referees that you wanted to be like? Role model etc...
"Not when I started, but as I started to understand more I really looked up to a number of people. I remember attending a meeting at Bury RA and the guest was Eddie Wolstenholme, who was a Premier League referee at the time. As a young referee just starting out I was really inspired by his talk, and remember the meeting well. Eddie and I became colleagues many years later when I was the Referee Development Officer at Lancashire FA.
As I came through the system, it was hard not to be inspired by the many great referees and assistants we have produced over the years. Of course watching Howard Webb and his team, Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey referee the World Cup final, just a few years after Phil Sharp assisted Pierluigi Collina, we were spoilt for choice on those that inspired us as new referees. Many of those I am now lucky to call colleagues and work with on a daily basis.
"We've a proud history of producing match officials who excel on the biggest stage domestically and internationally, and I hope that we're continuing that tradition of giving younger officials just starting out role models they can look up to."
Pierluigi Collina - "The World's Best Referee" 1998-2003
In January 2024, James was one of five match officials to be added to the FIFA International List along with Georgie Ball, Nicoleta Bria, Sophie Dennington and Emily Heaslip and joins fellow BNMRA member Chris Kavanagh who is amongst the existing officials.
What is your proudest moment in your career?
"That's a tough one...for me, putting the FIFA badge on my kit for the first time was a really proud moment. Equally, walking out at a sold out Wembley for the EFL Cup final, knowing my family were in the stands and watching from home was a great feeling. My mum and dad used to drive me everywhere and have to put up with the dirty kit, and early Sunday mornings, and in recent years, my wife Kirstie and our boys have given so much to support me. I'm glad they got to experience such a special occasion."
Do you have any advice for anyone just starting out in their refereeing journey or for those who are making their way?
"Keep going! I have worked with some exceptional officials over the years, and the difference between those that get where they want and those that don't...by and large...is those that get there never give up. They turn up to every meeting, they train, they take things in, they want to learn. Earlier I mentioned we have all shared the same setbacks...those that make it work through them, and learn from them so they suffer fewer in the future."
Congratulations to James on a fantastic career so far and a huge thanks to him for allowing us to focus on him and his journey for our inaugural episode of Official Focus. Let’s hope we are able to boast more BNMRA match officials in the professional game in the very near future.
Keep a look out for future editions of Official Focus where we shine the spotlight on other match officials we proudly boast within BNMRA.
Credit: Simon Harrison