Are you interested in becoming a Referee?
Our courses are designed to provide a full understanding of the Laws of Association Football, whether seeking to operate at a basic level or, if you are looking to achieve a more complex understanding of both practical, and theoretical match official skills, The AFA provide courses which can provide safe, ethical, and effective methods of refereeing.
How it works
The course is available to all over the age of 14 years of age, and each course will be held over a period of approximately 8 weeks, which includes a one-hour written examination, as well as an oral exam. The required pass mark is 75% overall, in order to achieve qualification.
Having achieved the basic qualification for refereeing, you will then be eligible to register as a Level 7 (Level 8 for under-16s) Referee where you may be given the relevant contacts to local football leagues, who will then provide opportunities to referee local matches involving youth, women, or men’s football. You will be paid a match fee for each game.
We recommend that you join The AFA & London Society of Association Referees, which holds monthly meetings and encompasses some training, instruction, and advice about refereeing. Once you have completed a year as a registered Referee, you will be eligible for promotion should you so wish. This will give the opportunity to develop your skills as a match official even further by enrolling on higher level courses, which we provide here at the AFA.
Progression
The promotion year runs from March 1 and ends on the last day of February. In order to be promoted, you will be required to:
- Referee 20 matches
- Attend an in-service training seminar
- Pass the Laws of the Game examination
- Act as an Assistant Referee on 5 occasions if seeking to become Level 4
You will be assessed on at least three occasions, and a comprehensive assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your performance will be collated and passed to you for advice.
At the end of the promotion year, your overall performance will be considered by the Referees’ Committee and, if the Committee is satisfied, you will be promoted to a higher Level. However, if you do not meet the required standard, you will be allowed to remain in the scheme until you achieve the required level of performance.
Should you be successful and in order to progress further, the same promotion scheme pattern is repeated for the next 12 months.
As a Level 6 Referee seeking to progress to Level 5 or Level 4, you will be invited to attend a County Fitness Test towards the end of the promotion year, during this will be required to run continuously around a running track for 12 minutes and cover a minimum of 2,500, followed by 2 50 metre sprints, each one must be completed in less than 7.5 seconds. If you pass these tests and gain promotion to Level 5, you may then be nominated for promotion to Level 4. At this stage, if selected, this will mean you will then be able to referee Supply League football (some of which is semi-professional) as well as become an Assistant Referee at Contributory League Level.
Providing you meet the required standards, you could be promoted to Level 3. This stage allows you to be a Referee at Contributory League Level and an Assistant Referee at Panel League Level, such as the Nationwide Conference. You could also be promoted to be an Assistant Referee on the National List and operate on The Football League and, possibly, the Premiership. Once again, a similar process is repeated in order for you to be promoted to Level 1, which means you will be eligible to be a Referee for The Football League and, possibly, the Premiership with the ultimate possibility of becoming and International Referee.
The world of refereeing is very eventful and, with dedication and commitment to training, can lead to a world full of opportunities and a flourishing career. For further information or any questions, please do not hesitate to contact:
Referee Development Officer
John Cooke