Former West Brom and Walsall midfielder part of programme to turn ex-professionals into referees

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), in conjunction with the PFA, has launched the Player to Match Official programme, a six month unique course aiming to training up former players as match officials.

Having ex-players transition to become referees has long been debated within the game - and this new programme is giving ten prospective candidates the chance to do just that.

Around 120 ex-professionals showed an interest through the PFA and that was whittled down to ten, with former Walsall midfielder Mantom being one of them.

The 33-year-old, who signed for Albion from Walsall's academy for a reported £20,000, went on to break into the Baggies first team set up, where he made three appearances.

After two loan spells with the Saddlers, he made a permanent switch and went on to score 19 times in 152 games for the club.

From there, he went on to sign for Scunthorpe United and Southend United, before he was left out of contract as the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020.

The midfielder made the decision to step away from full time football and discussed his decision and the difficulty a number of players faced, during an interview with the Express & Star in 2023.

The midfielder is still playing for Rushall Olympic and combining that with the new referee programme, which is sees the ten players involved paid £40,000 a year for the duration of the three year programme.

In return, they must attend regular three day camps, as well as studying clips, completing coursework and refereeing games.

Mantom and his fellow student referees recently attended a camp at the University of Warwick, and speaking to The Times, the former Saddlers midfielder outlined some of the difficulties he has already faced, having referee Sunday league games and university matches.

He said: "Usually I’ve been the one scrapping to win the game but suddenly you’re trying to control 22 players and university lads who’ve come down to watch their mates.

“It was different at the start but now I feel like I’m the guy in charge. Your time as a player won’t make you immune to criticism."