As new training techniques have been introduced and employed to make the referee’s (and assistant referee’s) fitter, FIFA have had to adapt the fitness tests undertaken by them. They have introduced a new and improved fitness test for the top tier of officials, that is not designed to assess speed, strength and flexibility.

Section 1

• 40 metre sprints x 6
  Time allowed: 6.2 seconds (referee) or 6.0 seconds (assistant).
• Participants must complete all 6 sprints in under the allowed time. If a participant fails to reach the goal, one additional sprint may be run.

Section 1 sees the participants tested on speed and strength. It is worth noting that the sprint times for the assistant referees are quicker than those for the referee. This reflects the need for the assistant to be able to keep up with play.

Section 2

• 150 metre runs x 20 (minimum)
  Time allowed: 30 seconds (referee) or 35 seconds (assistant).
• Participants will have 35 seconds (walking) recovery between each run.

Section 2 sees the participants tested on speed over distance and endurance. The difference in times for referees and assistants reflects the need of referees to cope with speed and endurance over a long period of time.

Total test time: 30 minutes

This fitness test has been well received by the refereeing fraternity as a fair and accurate assessment of one’s fitness to referee. The times mentioned above drift out for the lower levels of the game, where the tempo slows and the need for referees to keep up with full time professionals dissipates.