Question Number: 30519

League Specific 6/17/2016

RE: Adult

Referees of Syd, Nsw Australia asks...

Hi

How come in Australia NPL and aleague referees ages for centre ref tend to be age of 24 to 30 and same with assistants or even younger. While in england and other countries and euro referees ages seem to be 30+

What age for what levels of football should you be at what stage?

What are you thoughts on this. I feel age shouldnt matter it should be about talent and communications skills and feel for the game regarless of age. But in aus they tend to look at ages 18 to 25 while other countries it seems higher or any age. If your over 25+ and take up referee you should be able to make devent levels. Whats the fifa retirement age?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
This is a matter for each referee body and its policies. Some no doubt have decided to encourage younger referees and that could be a conscious decision by the body based on the current age profile of referees which may have been too high. In our group the age profile is older and we would like to introduce younger referees yet it is not easy. The key as you say is talent and refereeing ability. However I would say that the top level game has become extremely fast and it places greater emphasis on the referees running and fitness levels. At the highest level referees are now athletes and are extremely fast and fit. As an older referee I know that trying to get where I know I should be has become more difficult.
As regards FIFA age limits it has decided to eliminate the age limits for international referees which was confirmed by the Circular no. 1497. There is no more maximum age for first time nominations (38) and no more retirement age (45). In order to be nominated for the 2016 list, referees must be been born no later than 1990 and assistant referees must be born no later than 1992 in order to ensure a minimum level of experience. 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.
http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/02/67/14/74/circularno.1497-2016fifarefereeinginternationallists_neutral.pdf
In summary I see most associations going with younger fitter referees for their senior panels. If they can achieve that with good quality referees and without compromising quality then so be it. I have seen in the UK promotions of very young referees to the highest level that did not immediately work out. The referees had to be moved back down so it is just not about age.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Being the Australian referee on this panel I'm probably best positioned to answer this question - although my knowledge of the Australian approach here may be a few years outdated.
When the first time nomination age for FIFA referees was 39, this actually provided a fairly limited window for referees. If, for instance, a referee started on the HAL (Hyundai A-League - for our non-Australian readers, that's the Australian top tier, professional mens competition) at age 35, then it's extremely unlikely they'd develop to a level of expertise and experience for FIFA nomination in 4 years. So, the FFA (Football Federation Australia) drew up a rough timeframe at what age they considered to be the oldest that a referee would be starting on the HAL to have a chance at a FIFA nomination. At this time, the FFA were reluctant to invest resources into developing a referee who did not have a chance of a FIFA badge. Bear in mind that the end goal is to have an Australian referee on the FIFA World Cup Final.

So, all that being a given, it meant youth had to be the focus. The National Youth League was considered the primary development pathway for young referees, and there was an age cut-off for that panel - if memory serves correctly, is was 25. Personally I think National Premier League matches offer games of closer intensity to the HAL than NYL does, but I guess being on the NYL allowed more direct access to national referees coaches. Having said that, even at this time some referees too old for the NYL did move straight from State Premier League into the HAL.

Again for clarity - State Premier League was previously the top mens competition before the A-League, but now that was been sort of replaced by a National structure. My information comes from before the NPL came into play - so I'm not entirely certain how that has affected the refereeing pathway. Reviewing the newly revamped FFA strategic goals, it seems that the NPL and FFA cup are the major pathways, so I'm not sure where the NYL fits into the picture. Perhaps that's for youth development, but such referees will need to prove themselves on the NPL.

Have a look at the resources on this site:
http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/misc/referee-resources/zc7bxc69a3cq1lzfl713myr88

Bear in mind that in Australia, the HAL has only been around for 10 years. That means, a modern approach to all aspects of the game has only been around for that long. Truth be told, a really professional approach to refereeing development has really only been developed within the last 5 years - so predominantly it's the younger referees who have had the chance to grow up with new ideas of refereeing, new training methods, even new ideas of where 'good' referees fit into the picture. In short, younger referees are growing up with the new referee models so may fit into the picture a little better.

But ultimately, FFA want a FIFA World Cup Final referee - and focussing on younger referees is probably going to provide a greater chance to do that.

Also, having less depth in our competition than many overseas competitions we have far fewer spots for referees - and far less money to develop and train referees. So other leagues may not feel the need to consider all of their referees as potential FIFA World Cup Final referees - but I know that at one stage at least, that was a big goal of FFA.
These days local associations are all much more aware of - and closely aligned with - development pathways than in the past, particularly in major cities. So I'm sure you can ask at your local branch for more information around the refereeing pathways and why they are designed in such a way. As I said earlier, my information is a few years out of date.