Trying to make money whilst having fun ..
- Thread starter Ben Towns
- Start date
Depending on the age can be £15 to £35 per game starting out, some will do mileage.
Youth games are typically closer to the £15 and get higher as you go up the ages.
It honestly is a hard one, just for the money. Lots of admin, cancellations, managing your appointments and the dissent.
Falls into a bit of a lifestyle choice hahaa
Youth games are typically closer to the £15 and get higher as you go up the ages.
It honestly is a hard one, just for the money. Lots of admin, cancellations, managing your appointments and the dissent.
Falls into a bit of a lifestyle choice hahaa
Make money? Refereeing?!
Everything I get paid seems to go straight out on petrol or train fare, kit replacement and replenishment, wine gums, a beer in the clubhouse, memberships and affiliation, and the drive-home Big Mac.
It’s why I like getting a shiny medal in April, like, “ooh, so I DID get something from the last six months of being called an arsehole”
Everything I get paid seems to go straight out on petrol or train fare, kit replacement and replenishment, wine gums, a beer in the clubhouse, memberships and affiliation, and the drive-home Big Mac.
It’s why I like getting a shiny medal in April, like, “ooh, so I DID get something from the last six months of being called an arsehole”
Seriously though, if you have a local mini-soccer league, get involved. Can probably do 3/4 games back to back on a weekend and walk home with a fair few quid in your pocket and have a lovely day out topping up the tan. As those kids grow up and progress into the youth leagues, the managers will keep your number.
Honestly, it depends. In London, doing Sunday league men's, I used the cheap kit I got from my course and cycled to every game and was paid £40 a match. I made a small fortune.
Now in Wiltshire I have much higher travel costs, do higher leagues so wear smarter kit and do more games per week so need a couple of sets. I make a loss each season.
You can do it frugally and it's usually more fun than a part time job but you won't make as much
Now in Wiltshire I have much higher travel costs, do higher leagues so wear smarter kit and do more games per week so need a couple of sets. I make a loss each season.
You can do it frugally and it's usually more fun than a part time job but you won't make as much
Plus every time you need to pay for something you get hit with the famous line. 'just buy it, it's like one match fee'
Kes
I'll Decide ...
Having a passion/love for football won't be enough.
Once/if you qualify and get out there and start refereeing games (especially adult games) as a Level 7, you'll soon realise that the match fee paid serves as little more than "compensation" for what is expected of you and for what you'll experience.
Sounds a bit negative and pessimistic I know but if you view being paid as a grassroots football referee as on a par with say, delivering pizzas for a bit of cash in your pocket then you're in for a shock.
The "fun" aspect of it only begins when you've a few games under your belt and you decide/realise that you made the right choice.
Just telling it like it is fella ...
Don't go into reffing "for the money". It's not worth it.
It’s not worth it to an adult. I wish I’d reffed one game a week rather than having 2 paper rounds for a similar amount of money when I was 14. There’s nothing wrong with 14/15 year olds reffing younger kids for money.
The point is if you’re only in it for the money, you won’t survive long term.
I started when I was 15 because I wanted to earn some money but I had no real interest in reffing. 2 years later and I love it. You can easily do low age youth football and find you really enjoy it. The money is good at youth, obviously it's more the older you do but there's such a range of age groups so you'll easily find one you're comfortable with. Basically what I'm saying is I highly recommend it and if it's not for you, do enough matches to cover the cost of the course, probably only about 4 games and call it a day, good luck.
I always wish that I'd got into refereeing when I was at university. Pulling in the money from 2 or 3 games a week would have made a huge difference to my cash flow.
Whilst I agree with the overriding principle that getting into refereeing for money probably won't end well, it is a very lucrative option for a student to pull in money to support themselves. Can't speak for other parts of the country, but in London you are going to be looking at £40-£50 for a game, that's a lot more than you are going to get for working 2 hours in McDonalds or a shop.
Whilst I agree with the overriding principle that getting into refereeing for money probably won't end well, it is a very lucrative option for a student to pull in money to support themselves. Can't speak for other parts of the country, but in London you are going to be looking at £40-£50 for a game, that's a lot more than you are going to get for working 2 hours in McDonalds or a shop.