How do we make refereeing more enjoyable? It’s a question we’re passionate about at REFSIX; it’s why we exist! We know that abuse, bureaucracy and admin are negatively affecting referees' experiences all over the world. We covered some of these issues in our white paper about retention, but we wanted to know more about the state of refereeing today.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with the pre-eminent expert in the field of refereeing, Dr Tom Webb from the Centre for Business in Society (CBiS) based at Coventry University. Tom has been studying refereeing for over a decade and produced studies for organisations such as UEFA.

Dr Tom Webb had this to say about the new study:

"We need to understand better the challenges, barriers and issues associated with refereeing. Referee retention is an ongoing issue across sports, and football is no different. Wherever you are based in the world, sports federations and governing bodies are considering how they can improve referee retention.

We are working with REFSIX on this study to examine these issues across different countries, ultimately to contribute towards improving the experiences of referees/officials and improving retention rates."

Our users will receive a survey over the coming weeks that will anonymously collect information about their experiences as referees. To take part, you have to be a REFISX registered user, so download the app and sign up for free. We’ll be giving one respondent a free REFSIX PRO subscription!

By taking part in this important study you’ll have a voice in the way refereeing will evolve over the coming years.

We will provide a report in the coming months with the outcomes. Follow us to stay in the loop about this important work.