Become a Soccer Referee
In order to become a soccer referee in the United States, you must first get certified by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) so you can start refereeing youth soccer matches. After you complete the entry-level certification requirements, you’ll need to get all the necessary referee gear so that you can start officiating games. Once you have everything ready to go, it’s time to start building up experience so you can ref at progressively higher levels. Becoming a capable referee will also require some general skills such as prior knowledge of the game, a high level of fitness, and patience.
Contents
Steps
Getting Certified
- Contact your state’s referee association to find a USSF training course. The types of courses available vary from state to state, so look up your local referee association's website on the Internet and call or email them to get the exact details about how to enroll. Courses typically consist of either 100% either in-person clinics or a mixture of online coursework and in-person training. Template:Greenbox: '''Tip''': You can find a list of all the state association websites here: https://www.ussoccer.com/referee-program/resource-center/contact-info.
- Note that this applies to becoming a certified referee in the USA. If you live in Canada or Australia, look up the specific guidelines for becoming a certified referee in your country. The processes are similar, but the associations and courses are different.
- Enroll in a grade 8 referee training course to become an entry-level referee. Sign up for the next available course according to the information your state’s referee association gave you. Grade 8-certified referees are qualified to referee competitive youth soccer games of all sizes and ages.
- New grade 8 referees typically start out refereeing younger games and advance in age and competitive level as they gain more experience. You will be able to upgrade your referee certification as you gain experience so you can eventually referee adult games.
- There is a referee registration fee of $50 USD and a clinic fee of $30 that you will have to pay when you enroll in the course.
- Complete the USSF referee training course to become certified. Complete any online portions of the course and attend all the in-person clinics that are required of you. You will learn all the skills needed to manage and conduct youth matches. You will have to pass a written test at the end of the course to get your certification.
- An example of a totally in-person training clinic would be 16 hours of in-person training held over the weekend for 8 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday. In a hybrid course, you would have to complete online lessons and assignments before attending a shorter 8-hour in-person clinic.
- In addition to learning all the rules of soccer, the course will teach you about other important things like the history of the game, the history of refereeing, and the structure of FIFA soccer.
Acquiring Official Referee Equipment
- Buy a gold USSF-approved referee jersey and black shoes, shorts, and socks. There are 5 approved colors of jerseys: gold, black, blue, green, and red. Gold is considered the standard color, so buy this one first. Refs always wear black shorts, socks, and turf shoes or cleats.Template:Greenbox: '''Tip''': You can order all of your referee equipment online or look for it at a sporting goods store. Some websites also offer a whole kit so you can buy everything together at a better price.
- It’s a good idea to get at least 1 other color of jersey in case a team you are refereeing has gold uniforms too. Ideally, you will eventually buy 1 of each color so you have all the options available.
- A single referee jersey costs $25 USD and a pair of black referee shorts costs $25 USD as well. If you buy a pack of 5 jerseys at once it ends up being cheaper than buying them individually.
- Choose assistant soccer referee flags based on your personal taste. Checkered flags, solid flags, and diamond-pattern flags are the different options. There are no rules about which ones you can use, so pick whatever pattern and color you like.
- These flags are used by assistant referees to signal things to the main referee, such as the direction of a throw-in, a goal kick, a corner kick, an offside, or a foul.
- The starting price for a single basic referee flag is about $20 USD and they can go all the way up to hundreds of dollars for the kind they use in professional leagues around the world.
- Get at least 2 soccer referee whistles. You must have 2 whistles with you at all times during a match. There are various styles of whistles you can choose from that have different finger grips and even mouth cushion grips.
- A soccer whistle costs as little as $7 USD and up to about $50 USD for a really high-end one.
- Purchase a set of soccer referee cards. There are referee wallets with full sets of cards, write-on cards, and individual replacement cards. You need at least 1 red card and 1 yellow card so that you can use them to give out penalties.
- A quality set of 2 cards that are weather resistant, reflective, and have good grip costs about $12 USD. Cheaper sets go for as little as $2.
- Yellow cards are used to indicate that you are cautioning a player and red cards are used to indicate that you are sending them off the field.
- Buy 2 referee watches with a timer and a start/stop function. You need 2 watches in case 1 malfunctions. Purchase 2 watches that are in your budget and that suit your style.
- Referee watches range in price from less than $20 USD to about $125 USD.
Refereeing Matches and Upgrading Your Grade
- Notify your local soccer association of your availability. The exact process for getting assigned games varies by association, but you will usually need to give them your personal information and let them know when and where you are available to ref games. A local assignor for your area will then start assigning you to matches as either a referee or an assistant referee.
- Many state association websites also have lists of assignors by area with contact info, so you can reach out directly to an assignor and provide them with your details.
- USSF-certified referees get paid around $50 per match. It can be a little less or a little more depending on experience.
- Start refereeing games to meet the requirements to upgrade your grade. You will be able to move up in grades and start coaching older games after you are referee and assistant referee a certain number of times in your current grade. To move up to grade 7, for example, you must referee 75 games and be assistant referee at 25 games. Your assignor will assign you a mix of both positions.Template:Greenbox: '''Tip''': After grade 5, you can qualify to serve as a referee at national-level games.
- To get to grade 6, you must referee 100 games at the U19 level or higher and be assistant referee at 25 games at the U19 level or higher.
- To move up to grade 5, you must referee 150 games and be assistant referee at 50 games. At least 50 of the total number of games must have been adult matches.
- When you get to grade 6 and grade 5, you will be able to start refereeing top-level adult games in your state.
- Do additional training and assessments whenever you are eligible to upgrade. You must complete 5 hours of intermediate USSF training, pass a written test with at least 75% correct, and pass an in-game assessment to upgrade from grade 8 to grade 7, for example. Each following grade has different requirements that you have to fulfill to keep upgrading. Contact your local association for information on how to complete the additional training and assessments.
- To move up to grade 6 when you are eligible, you have to complete 19 hours of state referee training, pass a written test with at least 75% right, and pass 2 in-game assessments during adult games.
- To upgrade to grade 5 you must pass 7 hours of in-service training, pass 2 assessments as referee in top-level adult games, and pass 1 assessment as assistant referee in a top-level adult game.
Developing Useful Skills
- Learn the rules of the game before you become a referee. You don’t need any experience to become a soccer referee, but it will definitely benefit you to be familiar with the rules of the game ahead of time. Watch soccer and read about soccer to learn the ins and outs of the game. Pay special attention to all the scenarios refs are involved in, such as penalties, throw-ins, goal kicks, corner kicks, and offsides.
- You can find lots of free online resources for referees or aspiring referees such as training videos. You could also look for a book about refereeing.
- Get in shape so you can run up and down the field for a whole game. Soccer referees have to run almost as much as the players do so they can keep up with the action. Do cardio exercises such as running, swimming, and biking to maintain a good fitness level. Eat a balanced diet and drink lots of water as well to stay healthy.
- Soccer players run an average of 7 miles per game, which means referees run about 6-8 miles per game. That is way more than NFL, NBA, or MLB players, to put it in perspective!
- Practice being patient so you can deal with players and coaches calmly. You will have to deal with upset players and coaches as part of being a soccer referee, so it’s important that you are patient with them and don’t let it interfere with your calls. Practice being more patient in your day-to-day life so that you can apply patience during soccer matches.
- You will also inevitably hear some heckling from aggressive fans who get mad when you make a call against their team. You need to be able to ignore this and focus on officiating the match.
- Have a passion for soccer. You need to love the game to be a good soccer referee. Make sure you are passionate and ready to commit a good part of your life to it as a referee before you get started.
- Some ways to develop your passion are reading as much as you can about soccer, watching as many games as you can, and incorporating soccer-related and referee-related exercises and learning into your everyday life.
