Northern League chairman Mike Amos believes that the FA is making a big mistake by taking away the autonomy of leagues and wants the FA to rethink its policy of central bureaucracy.

Alan Powles, who has organised match officials for the league’s second division for several years, is going to be phased out by the FA’s intention to appoint officials by a committee headed by an FA officer. The League used to also appoint officials for its first division, but that responsibility was taken away from them by the FA some years ago.

“The FA wants to introduce a referees’ pool at supply league level – our second division and the Wearside League in the North-East – run by a small committee and with a single appointing officer,” said Amos. “The FA made clear that if we didn’t agree to the change, it would be forced upon us in 2016-17. Among the principles, apparently, is that a “pool” will give match officials greater experience and enable the better ones a better chance of progression. We hope it works.

“What worries me, however, is that it’s another example of FA officers handing down tablets – whether or not that tablet is appropriate for a particular situation or location – and then leaving the poor infantry to (as it were) swallow them. The more that central government leans towards devolved powers and greater autonomy at regional level, the more that the FA seems to head in the opposite direction so far as the grass roots game is concerned.

“I truly believe that, in years to come, what remains of football at our level will look back at the utter folly of this policy. Leagues and clubs are being saddled with ever greater levels of central bureaucracy with ever less opportunity to divine their own ends. No wonder it’s so hard to recruit volunteers. It’s a kings-new-clothes situation about which no one in high authority seems prepared to speak out. Is there no one on the FA Council prepared to demand a root and branch review of what is going on, especially at Steps 5 and 6, and to say that, actually, the king is bollock naked?

“It seems to me that an urgent and radical re-think is in order at the highest level. Revolution has in many ways failed; it’s time for devolution, now. Of course we need a national governing body’ of course we need a national structure for the game and, of course, there are good people both paid and elected at the FA. It’s now time, however, for the FA closely to examine how leagues can be given a greater degree of autonomy – and how voluntary football administration can be made an altogether more appealing and fulfilling prospect. Volunteers need not just to be empowered, but to feel valued. So far as the referee pools are concerned, it also seems likely that we’ll have to find more funds to run the thing.”