Eleven GAA members have pledged to become Fermanagh LGFA referees but major fears are growing over the future of the ladies game following a worrying drop-off in local match officials.
Many ladies GAA players have been left frustrated in recent weeks after a number of club games were postponed due to an unavailability of referees and officials to cover the many matches.
Fermanagh LGFA currently has just 10 officials to cover adult and underage ladies game, with matches taking place at 10am on a Sunday morning, to suit the small pool of available referees.
A statement was sent to clubs with Fermanagh LGFA informing them that if they do not have a ladies referee, the club will lose home advantage for all games at both adult and underage level.
In a bid to address the shortage, a youth referee course was held, with 11 members taking part.
Fermanagh LGFA Development Officer, Conor Meehan, explained that if the county can not recruit match officials, scheduled games will be postponed, in a bid for many ladies footballers.
“We’ve got 10 referees of our own and two guys from outside the county are willing to come in and help. We’ve got a low number of officials,” explained the Tempo Maguires GAA clubman.
“If we don’t get more ladies referees, eventually the well will run dry. The same pool of referees are going to get fed up if they’re out five, six or seven days a week.”