Introduction

In this introductory chapter, the background, topics, and content of the book are summarized. The chapter covers aspects such as the current landscape for officiating research and how this landscape is changing. Beginning to place in context the research and contributory chapters from officiating scholars from around the world, this chapter explains the structure of the book and the arrangement of the chapters within this structure. The chapter introduces the three parts into which the book is organized, all of which are deliberately focused on important elements such as management and leadership for the future of officials in sports. The parts consider subjects such as recruiting individuals to officiating, retaining individuals in officiating, and then nurturing these officials to progress in officiating. The book is structured and formatted to ensure that officials can identify areas of development and then access that specific chapter or part to enable this development. The introductory chapter concludes with a summary of the book chapters.