Referee Resources

How to become a referee

If you’ve played before, been a parent/coach/assistant, or just have a love for the game then we encourage you to become a certified referee.  Classes/clinics are offered to educate you on the Laws of the Game and provide an entry level introduction into officiating youth soccer games.

Please visit the South Texas Soccer Referees website www.stxref.org to learn more about the various levels and getting started. Visit the clinics page to see what’s currently available www.stxref.org/stsr/find-clinics.

Once you become certified you are eligible to work as a referee, however, this will require notifying a club’s referee assignor so that they know you are available.

Referees can find local assignors by contacting clubs in your area and asking for their Assignor contact info. For checking farther afield, try checking the STSR Contacts.

Cost expectations:

There is a clinic fee and USSF registration fee required to become a referee and also required on an annual basis to recertify for that coming year.

There is an initial cost for your uniform and gear.  A new referee should expect to pay around $60 for a “starter kit”, which includes approved shirt, shorts, socks, whistle, flags, report book with red/yellow cards.  Here are some good examples. Basic short sleeve gold would be the starting shirt.  A more experienced referee should expect to add additional colors (gold, green, blue, red, and black are available) and possibly long sleeve for colder weather officiating.

Pay levels for referees vary widely by club, competition level, and length of game.  However, a new referee could expect to earn $15-20 as AR (linesman) and $20-30 as a Center (Referee) per game with 3-6 games on an average soccer season weekend.

Document Title

Download/Link

IFAB Laws of the Game pdf
2018-2019 Academy Guide for Referees  Updated 11/1/2018