Martin Bodenham has just about seen it all as in his time as a soccer referee.

A European final, four full internationals, two FA Cup semi-finals and a host of top league games in a 32-year career which saw him progress from Brighton parks football to the UEFA list.

Now the Ferring-based official is spearheading a new initiative aimed at improving the quantity and quality of referees at all levels in Sussex.

Bodenham, who took up the whistle as a 16-year old back in 1966, has been appointed Sussex's first ever Head of Refereeing.

It is a wide reaching role, covering all aspects of life in the middle, but Bodenham intends to delegate as much of the paperwork as possible and get out around the county to see what makes match officials tick.

He will be calling on the help of fellow ex-internationals Gary Willard and Allan Gunn to ensure Sussex referees return to the highest levels of the European game.

Bodenham said: "I have refereed since 1966 and I have identified lots of problems which have not been addressed.

"I know what makes referees tick and what turns them off.

"It can be rewarding. I was never going to make it as a player but I got to the top as a referee and I have been around the world two or three times. There are full-time referees now who can earn £50,000 a year.

"I am not saying everybody should be aiming for that but, if we see someone with potential, we will help them through."

Bodenham was never paid full-time when he was out in the middle but he is what you might call a professional ex-referee.

The Sussex FA post is part-time. He also works as a Premiership observer and a national list assessor.

Bodenham would love to return to days when the likes of Willard, Gunn and Mike James took charge of top domestic and international matches.

Sussex's referees are currently led by Steve Tomlin and Clive Penton in the Nationwide League. Martin Postles is a league linesman and the county also has three referees in the Ryman League and one in the Dr Martens.

Bodenham admitted: "Recruitment and retention is a real problem. Not many people want to take the responsibility.

"Most people can pass the exam but we don't try to help them in the early stages of their career, which is when you lose the majority of referees.

"There is a new FA edict now. Of their first three games, we will watch one and ask them to do a self critique for the other two. "We will put referees in a classroom, something which has probably been neglected for almost ten years, so when things happen on the field of pay they are au fait with what to do in each situation.

Potential new referees should write to Martin Bodenham at the Sussex FA, Culver Road, Lancing, BN15 9AX.