Following a sharp rise in the number of registered referees in the island in recent weeks, every match in the Jersey FA Combination League this past weekend had a Jersey FA referee appointed, with many also enjoying two JFA assistant referees.

19 officials were in action in Saturday's 11 fixtures, with 17 appointed to Sunday's 15 women's and junior games.

It follows a marked increase in the number of registered referees in Jersey over the past month, with 44 now on the list compared to 29 at the end of last season. A recruitment campaign over the next six months will look to further build on the growing interest in officiating.

"It's fantastic for Jersey football to have the numbers available to be able to appoint a referee to every fixture," said Gareth Bayley, Chairman of the JFA Referees' Committee.

"This is a credit to the continued hard work of our experienced refs and the efforts made to recruit new referees over a number of years. Newly and recently qualified referees are now coming through to officiate in the senior game to bolster the numbers. I'm sure everyone involved in football would agree that having a qualified referee taking charge of their match makes the game better.

"We cannot rest on our laurels though. Support for officials must continue to keep them in the game and encourage more new recruits to become qualified and join the ranks so this weekend's positive news becomes the norm."

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Liam McDermott took charge of his first game this weekend, when Portuguese Utd faced Grouville Women at FB Fields

Mark Le Cornu, the league's Referee Appointments Officer, added: "It's fantastic that we've managed to cover every game with an officially appointed referee. As far as I can remember it's the first time we have ever managed this."