FIFA International Referees List

FIFA International Referee Vladislav Bezborodov wearing referees shirt with 2011 FIFA badge

The FIFA International Referees List is the global list of referees in the football-variants controlled by FIFA - Association football (outdoor football), Futsal and Beach soccer. Members of the list are qualified to officiate at international level and are entitled to wear a FIFA badge on their uniform for the year in which they listed.

Nomination

FIFA member countries are invited annually to nominate male and female officials for association football, futsal and beach soccer. Each country's Referee's Committee selects the referees to be nominated to FIFA.^[1][2]

FIFA maintains five lists in total: men's and women's association football referees,^[3][4] men's and women's futsal referees,^[5][6] and a single list of beach soccer referees.^[7] Officials in the association football lists are nominated as either referees or assistant referees.^[8] Futsal and beach soccer at international level are usually controlled by two on-field referees and there is no equivalent of the assistant referee.^[1]

Fitness

Referees nominated to the list must pass fitness tests consisting of a series of 40 meter sprints and an interval test consisting of 75 meter sprints and 2x 12,5 meter recovery walks. Assistant referees nominated to the list must pass fitness tests consisting of a CODA-drill, series of 30 meter sprints and an interval test consisting of 75 meter sprints and 2x 12,5 meter recovery walks. ^[1][9][10]

FIFA badge

On being selected to the list, referees receive a badge from FIFA. The badge indicates the category of official in which they have been listed - referee, assistant referee, Futsal referee or Beach soccer referee. While officiating matches in the category they have been nominated, the referee is expected to wear the badge. Where a referee is controlling a match outside of their category (e.g. an assistant referee acting as a central referee or a Futsal referee controlling an outdoor match) the badge is not worn. Members of the women's list are only allowed to work men's international matches if they have completed the men's fitness tests. Being listed for the first time is often referred to as receiving a FIFA badge.^[1]

Age

A center referee must be at least 25 years old on January 1 to be eligible for International Referee listing nomination on that calendar year. An assistant referee is eligible at the age of 23 years.

Prior to 2016, a referee had to be no older than 44 years old to be eligible for being listed. Not previously listed referees had to be no older than 38.

In 2014, FIFA announced that they would remove the maximum age requirement. This was confirmed^[11] in 2015.

FIFA reserves the right to require referees over the age of 45 to undergo additional technical assessments as well as specific medical examinations and fitness testing on a case by case basis.^[11] Sarkis Demirdjian was the longest serving referee for the official Federation of Internationale de Football(FIFA), 20 years and 10 months, from September 1962 until July 1983.^[12]

Referees by Association

As of 2016, a total of 3,378 referees from 201 associations worldwide have FIFA international status.^[13]

Association	Number of Referees						Reference
	Men	Women	Men's Futsal	Women's Futsal	Beach Soccer	Total
Afghanistan	2	2	1	1	1	7	[14]
Albania	9	1	1	-	-	11	[15]
Algeria	14	-	-	-	-	14	[16]
American Samoa	1	-	-	-	-	1	[17]
Andorra	3	-	1	-	-	4	[18]
Angola	14	4	3	-	-	21	[19]
Antigua and Barbuda	2	2	-	-	-	4	[20]
Argentina	20	6	4	2	3	35	[21]
Armenia	6	6	-	-	-	12	[22]
Aruba	4	-	-	-	-	4	[23]
Australia	15	6	4	-	-	25	[24]
Austria	17	7	2	-	-	26	[25]
Azerbaijan	9	6	4	-	3	22	[26]
Bahamas	3	-	-	-	-	3	[27]
Bahrain	14	-	3	-	2	19	[28]
Bangladesh	12	-	-	-	-	12	[29]
Belgium	17	8	4	-	2	31	[30]
Bhutan	4	-	1	-	-	5	[31]
Cambodia	8	-	1	-	-	9	[32]
India	6	2	-	-	-	8	[33]
Laos	7	-	1	-	-	8	[34]
Thailand	14	3	4	-	2	23	[35]
Turkey	17	8	4	1	4	34	[36]
Vietnam	9	6	3	-	1	19	[37]

References

1. "Regulations governing the registration of international referees, assistant referees, futsal" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
2. "Duties of the Referees Committee" (PDF). Regulations on the Organisation of Refereeing in FIFA Member Associations. FIFA. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
3. "Men's Referees List". FIFA.com. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
4. "Women's Referees' List". FIFA.com. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
5. "Men's Futsal Referees' List". FIFA.com. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
6. "Women's Futsal Referees' List". FIFA.com. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
7. "Refereeing - Beach Soccer Referees' List". FIFA.com. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
8. For example, the list of Australian men's association football referees is divided into referees and assistant referees:
9. Park, Madison (4 June 2010). "World Cup referees outrun players". CNN.com. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
10. Morrison, Jim (22 June 2010). "How to Train a World Cup Referee". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
11. "Circular No. 1497" (PDF). fifa.com. FIFA.
12. Glenday, Craig (2013). Guinness World Records 2014. p. 256. ISBN 9781908843159.
13. Referees by Association. FIFA.com
14. Afghanistan. FIFA.com
15. Albania. FIFA.com
16. Algeria. FIFA.com
17. Algeria. FIFA.com
18. Andorra. FIFA.com
19. Angola. FIFA.com
20. Antigua and Barbuda. FIFA.com
21. Argentina. FIFA.com
22. Armenia. FIFA.com
23. Aruba. FIFA.com
24. Australia. FIFA.com
25. Austria. FIFA.com
26. Azerbaijan. FIFA.com
27. Bahamas. FIFA.com
28. Bahrain. FIFA.com
29. Bangladesh. FIFA.com
30. Belgium. FIFA.com
31. Bhutan. FIFA.com
32. Cambodia. FIFA.com
33. India. FIFA.com
34. Laos. FIFA.com
35. Thailand. FIFA.com
36. Thailand. FIFA.com
37. Vietnam. FIFA.com

External links

• "List of Referees". FIFA.