How to Become a Certified Soccer Referee

Ask any youth soccer director across the United States and they will tell you there is a shortage of one thing: referees.
There is a demand and a need for quality referees in youth sports today in America. Being a good soccer official takes time but before a ref can start refereeing in matches, he must become certified.

Things You'll Need

• Soccer rulebook Referee equipment

Instructions

Course, testing and officiating

1. The first thing a referee-to-be needs to do is find a referee course. Much like coaching courses in soccer, these courses are administered by a state referee association and hosted by a club or league.
   Every state has a referees association which is overseen by U.S. Soccer. To find a listing of these courses a referee has a few options. They can go online to the website of a league or club, to the state's soccer association or to the state's referee's association site.

2. Referee courses are usually three to four days long and run three hours in the evening.
   Over this time, you will learn rules of the game, interpretations of those rules, the difference between refereeing in FIFA-sanctioned matches and other matches and techniques on how to keep the match moving.
   The teachers in the course are usually longtime certified referees and have advice that expands beyond the course curriculum.

3. Knowing the rules of the game is important. FIFA publishes "FIFA Laws of the Game" every year with new updates or bylaws. Soccer is a very simple game and there are only 17 sections in this book -- which can also be found online.
   However, referees must know these 17 laws and their interpretations inside and out in order to be certified.

4. Testing is the final phase of certification. Referees will have a written test and will also have the opportunity to officiate on a field in front of instructors for a scrimmage.
   Referees must show they know and can explain the rules of the game during the written test, then show they they are capable of enforcing those rules efficiently during the game.

References

• Example of a referee's course listing
• FIFA Laws of the Game