National Development Day in cooperation with APAF

After a 2nd successful participation in 2021, Referee Abroad will be back in Portugal for yet another edition of the ENAJ, the national meeting of young referees, organized by the Portuguese Referee Association (APAF).

This year’s meeting will take place in the small town of Castelo da Vide, in the mountains on the border of Spain and will see the participation of six young Referee Abroad referees from all arond Europe.

The meeting, which will last three days, will start on September 23rd and last through September 25th. It will see a number of both classroom and practical training sessions conducted by some of Portugal’s best referees and instructors, including Euro 2020 and FIFA referee Artur Soares Dias and his team, FIFA referee Joao Godinho and former FIFA referee Duarte Gomes.

The sessions will cover a wide range of refereeing subjects from players management, to mental preparadness and personality. At the end of the weekend all referees will take a final test. The meetings, while conducted in Portuguese, will see live translations for all foreign participants.

In order to take part referees must be maximum 19 years of age during the meeting and be considered promising officials in their home countries. They must also have a good level of English.

The only costs for participating referees will be flights to/from Portugal plus a participation fee of Euro 60.00. Travel to/from Castelo da Vide is at a referee’s own cost but there is a possibility of meeting in Lisbon ahead of the meeting and travel together, if needed.

You can express your interest in taking part by filling out the form below. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of available places, an on-line selection process will be organized.