Have you been considering going towards the path of becoming a referee? First, you have to consider if you truly love sports, especially football. Some people love to play them, and there are those that like it more when they watch it. Referees fall in the category of those that love to watch the game from every angle.
Referees make up a section of the participants in sports that contribute to the success of the game. There are referees for all kinds of sports, from football and basketball to volleyball etc. You usually find them in their black and white striped uniforms in football matches. In other sports, you see them in solid colour shirts, in games such as hockey, soccer and basketball etc.
It is the job of a referee to understand the rules of the game, and to watch the players on the field closely. They also keep track of the time of the event, while making sure that the players are always safe throughout the game.
How Do You Start Your Referee Career?
Now that you know what they do, the question is, how do you become a 
referee? The world cup referees didn’t just get to the top in one day. They started with the basics; that is training.
Some referees started by volunteering in local matches around them as youths. All they had to do was study the rules, and learn to be observant. At this stage, though they aren’t professionals, it still helps to gain the experience of what its like to do the job. You can start here, and you would need to get a referee’s striped uniform, that make you look like a professional.
After volunteering, you can also take the next step to get licensed as a real referee. This will mean attending a lot of classes and having to pass some tests to qualify for a license. Professional referees have different levels of training. They have regular promotion exams, and interviews, that gradually take them up to the international list of the Football Association (FA). There are just 10 referees, and 14 referee assistants, that are qualified at the international level.
Conclusion
With constant training, and getting higher licenses, you’d soon be on your way from youth league games, to the international ranking. Many professional sports leagues frequently recruit the best referees from lower rankings, especially at the college level.
