New referee in the UK: when are most games played? Looking for some advice

Hi everyone,

I've been a ref in Spain and Canada and I've recently moved to England. The main reason is because I want to experience refereeing here and, in the longer term, become a referee instructor, as I was in Canada. My goal this first year is to referee as many games as possible to get promoted quickly and gain experience in the country.

But right now, I'm looking for a job and have had some interviews. There is one job I'm especially keen on (if I get selected) that involves working Saturday or Sunday from 8:30 to 16:30... and here are my questions:

1- Would working one day of the weekend limit a lot my chances?
2- Are Saturday and Sunday equally popular for games? Do you have games after 16:30?
3- Can you ref games (with official assessments or that count for promotion) on weekdays too?


Thanks a lot, I really appreciate all the information there is in this forum!

davidmt said:

Hi everyone,

I've been a ref in Spain and Canada and I've recently moved to England. The main reason is because I want to experience refereeing here and, in the longer term, become a referee instructor, as I was in Canada. My goal this first year is to referee as many games as possible to get promoted quickly and gain experience in the country.

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Welcome.

davidmt said:

But right now, I'm looking for a job and have had some interviews. There is one job I'm especially keen on (if I get selected) that involves working Saturday or Sunday from 8:30 to 16:30... and here are my questions:

1- Would working one day of the weekend limit a lot my chances?

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Yes. Football is played on Saturdays and Sundays but the vast majority, and the day you really need to be available if you want to progress is Saturday.

davidmt said:

2- Are Saturday and Sunday equally popular for games? Do you have games after 16:30?

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Not generally on a weekend. Kick offs for most Saturday is 15:00 or 14:00 in the winter months where there is no floodlighting.

davidmt said:

3- Can you ref games (with official assessments or that count for promotion) on weekdays too?

Click to expand...

Yes. But Saturday availability will always be taken into account.

davidmt said:

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate all the information there is in this forum!

Click to expand...

This site has been a great resource for me over the last few years.

There's a thread going on at the moment. One of our colleagues is planning to move to Spain. Perhaps you could share you experience and offer some advice to them in that thread?

Here it is:

JamesL said:

Welcome.

Yes. Football is played on Saturdays and Sundays but the vast majority, and the day you really need to be available if you want to progress is Saturday.

Not generally on a weekend. Kick offs for most Saturday is 15:00 or 14:00 in the winter months where there is no floodlighting.

Yes. But Saturday availability will always be taken into account.


This site has been a great resource for me over the last few years.

There's a thread going on at the moment. One of our colleagues is planning to move to Spain. Perhaps you could share you experience and offer some advice to them in that thread?

Here it is:

Moving to spain

Has anyone moving from refereeing in England to Spain I'm currently a L5 and would like to continue refereeing when I move to Spain?

refchat.co.uk

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Thank you, that's very useful! If I take the job, I will prioritize being free on Saturdays then.

I'm going to try to help, sure! I'm still not very familiar with searching in the forum, so thanks for pointing out this thread.

If you care about just grinding it out straight from level 7 to 5 i recommend the following:

Sign up to several leagues. Women's open age football at grassroots is good as it is less exhausting and contact your local academies as academies are good for midweek games.

Youth games can be great as it uncommon to get 2/3 back to back games with the same club on the same day U12s then U14s then U16s for an example.

Getting coaching reports is actually easier during the week than the weekend as observers are less likely to be engaged. Be a dog with a bone regarding the coaching reports appointment officer, don't let him forget about you for a few months. Obviously be tactful though, do not be rude or pushy, don't want to make an enemy of this individual.

If you do additional games as a level 7, then promote to 6, you cannot use those extra games while you were a 7 towards your 5.

For 5 you'll need lines, so consider joining your local step 6-5 league. Careful they don't pack your availability with lines though.

The end of the season is typically packed with games due to teams panicking to get all there games completed. So you might get 3/4 games a week.

Try and get good rapport with your RDO and let them know what you're trying to achieve.

YesRef can be a good shout for picking random matches/lines that start to add up.

Also if you do get a game on YesRef, ask the appointer if he wants your number.

Lastly check the local Full-Time and if there is fixtures due soon without a ref while you have availability touch bases with the club/league.

It depends how high you want to be promoted to. Working every or most Saturdays would pretty much stop you going above L5, working Sundays wouldn't hold you back at all. Saturday adult games tend to be 14:00 kick offs, sometimes a bit later in months with longer daylight, Sunday adult games tend to be in the morning, except for women's games which are typically 14:00. Generally Saturday leagues are better skilled and organised, and better behaved than their Sunday counterparts, probably because the players have had longer for the previous night's alcohol to escape from their bodies

At grass roots there are very few midweek games as the cost of hiring floodlit pitches is prohibitively expensive.

OldNavyRef said:

If you care about just grinding it out straight from level 7 to 5 i recommend the following:

Sign up to several leagues. Women's open age football at grassroots is good as it is less exhausting and contact your local academies as academies are good for midweek games.

Youth games can be great as it uncommon to get 2/3 back to back games with the same club on the same day U12s then U14s then U16s for an example.

Getting coaching reports is actually easier during the week than the weekend as observers are less likely to be engaged. Be a dog with a bone regarding the coaching reports appointment officer, don't let him forget about you for a few months. Obviously be tactful though, do not be rude or pushy, don't want to make an enemy of this individual.

If you do additional games as a level 7, then promote to 6, you cannot use those extra games while you were a 7 towards your 5.

For 5 you'll need lines, so consider joining your local step 6-5 league. Careful they don't pack your availability with lines though.

The end of the season is typically packed with games due to teams panicking to get all there games completed. So you might get 3/4 games a week.

Try and get good rapport with your RDO and let them know what you're trying to achieve.

YesRef can be a good shout for picking random matches/lines that start to add up.

Also if you do get a game on YesRef, ask the appointer if he wants your number.

Lastly check the local Full-Time and if there is fixtures due soon without a ref while you have availability touch bases with the club/league.

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Thanks for that mate! I'm still very much lost on how the promotion procedures work, and where will I start, but I'm sure it will make sense once I get started and meet my RDO. If you don't mind, I might get back to you in the following months!

RustyRef said:

It depends how high you want to be promoted to. Working every or most Saturdays would pretty much stop you going above L5, working Sundays wouldn't hold you back at all. Saturday adult games tend to be 14:00 kick offs, sometimes a bit later in months with longer daylight, Sunday adult games tend to be in the morning, except for women's games which are typically 14:00. Generally Saturday leagues are better skilled and organised, and better behaved than their Sunday counterparts, probably because the players have had longer for the previous night's alcohol to escape from their bodies

At grass roots there are very few midweek games as the cost of hiring floodlit pitches is prohibitively expensive.

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Ok, so you would say Saturdays is when most lower leagues play, so it would help me get from L7 to L5? And after that, to advance from L5 I should focus on Sundays? Thanks!

Generally; football on our 'non league' pyramid, which is basically the national system a team can take to progress up to the Premier League, is always played on a Saturday. This means when you progress beyond L5, you will have to be available on a good portion of Saturdays.

Sunday football, on the other hand, is far more recreational, and mens teams cannot progress through our league systems on Sunday football. Therefore, it is often of a slightly lower quality (that's a rule of thumb, and no discredit to Sunday football itself!).

Therefore, from L7-5, being available on a Saturday will be looked on as being more favourable. Then, from L5-4 upwards, you will be promoted in part, based on your availability on Saturdays, which is essential.

davidmt said:

Ok, so you would say Saturdays is when most lower leagues play, so it would help me get from L7 to L5? And after that, to advance from L5 I should focus on Sundays? Thanks!

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Women's open age leagues where I am are a Sunday. They have equal merit to men open age from 7 to 5.