From player to referee

Refereeing is a great opportunity to see the game from a different angle and make money doing it. Most skills you developed as a player will help you to progress as a referee. Physical and mental fitness are a must. So is the ability to make quick decisions under pressure. Your understanding of the game will help you to know where to be on the field to have the best view and your experience playing the game will be a great help in foul recognition.

If you want to invest in yourself, refereeing is full of growth opportunities. Depending on what your goals are, you can choose Soccer for Life or Talented refereeing pathways. At every level, club, district, province, national, there are programs designed to help promising game officials to progress to the next level and achieve their goals.

While, most likely, you will start at the house league level to gain initial experience, within a short period of time, if you are interested and capable, you can progress to refereeing youth recreational and competitive games, and a bit later referee in adult competition. Reaching level 8 will allow you to referee in regional and provincial adult competitions and apply to the Regional Upgrading Program (level 9). And there are several levels after that.