Ten more European national football associations have joined the UEFA Convention on Referee Education and Organisation.

The associations of Belarus, Cyprus, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Serbia, Turkey and Wales signed the convention at a ceremony during UEFA's Congress events in Tel Aviv, Israel, last week. A total of 30 associations are now members of the convention, and the remaining 23 UEFA constituent FAs are all part of the admission process for the future.

The aims of the UEFA Referee Convention include enhancing referee education, promoting the role of the referee, and improving refereeing structures and development within the European associations. "The convention is a tool, which is used to help raise standards and bring the associations into line with the benchmark set by UEFA," said UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh.

By signing the convention, associations agree to a development plan for refereeing and become entitled to receive a financial contribution for their work, and further annual payments as long as the required standards are maintained.