Educating international football referees: the importance of uniformity

The uniformity and standardisation of the training and development of elite referees is a continuing focus for organisations such as FIFA, as well as the confederations (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, UEFA & OFC). The inception of the Referee Assistance Programme (RAP) in 2007 permitted FIFA to endeavour to move towards a homogenous and uniform structure across confederations for the training and education of referees. A concerted effort has been made to move toward standardised approaches in training, decision making and performance through the delivery of technical training and seminars for both referees and referee technical instructors. The delivery of this training has been accompanied by an increased focus and importance placed on the audio-visual, multimedia resources which support the provision of the training. Following engagement with referees across confederations, findings suggested mixed results in terms of the success of the shift towards increased uniformity. Referees identified cultural differences and the variances that exist between the confederations, the national associations and the domestic competitions, demonstrated through confederation referee participation in the FIFA World Cup. Therefore, further consideration is required in terms of the training courses provided, the existence and role of culture within the delivery of this training, and further adaptations to training courses should be examined to increase uniformity across confederations.