Referee Abroad offers match officials of all ages and experiences a unique experience to referee abroad with international groups of officials, all while developing on a personal and professional level.
Imagine the chance of refereeing a team from Brazil against another from Italy, or Australia against Ivory Coast, with fellow referees from across the world while based for the week in Barcelona, Paris or Lisbon? And all this while developing as a match official: thanks to Referee Abroad’s unique network of Match Observers, our tournaments offer all referees the chance to be observed by a worldwide panel of Observers, ensuring growth as an official.
Do you prefer a more relaxed environment? Our holiday tournaments might be for you. Refereeing some of the world’s best teams, while enjoying the beatiful beaches of Spain or Portugal or visit great cities and heritage in the United States, China or Europe.
All our tournaments are divided into CATEGORIES. Each category responds to specific needs a referee might have. They are:
Development Tournaments
Development tournaments are the “ultimate” Referee Abroad package. All our flagship tournaments are included this category. They all offer high quality of football and all games are with 3 or 4 officials, and at selected tournaments we also offer communication headsets for referee teams to use in order to get the “FIFA” experience. And tournament finals are held at prestigious locations / stadiums in their home city, with the majority also live on local TV, meaning the top referees from across the week will see their names up in lights!
As a non-for-profit organization, the Referee Abroad Experience has been designed to ensure any referee can take part thanks to its modest cost, offering a package which includes:
– Referee Abroad Membership
– Accommodation for the entire tournament in Residence-style lodging
– Full board across the week
– Local transport to and from games
– Goodies including a Referee Abroad coin, a Referee Abroad badge for your ref tops, and an exclusive Referee Abroad t-shirt
– Observers from across Europe and beyond present in the Development category
– Games with assistants and fourth officials, and possibility of using communication headsets
– Finals in stadiums / possibility of appearing on live TV
– Awards ceremony for finalists and top / most promising officials over the tournament
– A fantastic week of refereeing, friends, and fun!
Some of our Experience Tournaments
Holiday Tournaments
Holiday tournaments are designed for all those referees who prefer a more “relaxed” environment with more free time to enojoy sightseeing or the sunshine with a trip to the beach. All our holiday tournaments take part in renowed destinations in Europe, famous for their vacation hotspots. They include the likes of the Spain resort of Benidorm or events in Germany, Mexico and Italy. Check our for example the Costa Blanca Cup or the Benidorm Cup or if you fancy a trip further away, why not China, California or Mexico?
During holiday events you’ll referee some high quality football and most games will be concentrated in only half of the day (either morning or afternoon), so that will leave you plenty of free time to enjoy what these magnificient locations have to offer to any traveller.
Elite Tournaments
As the name suggests these are events of the highest quality, which often see the participation of some of Europe’s top clubs. In order to take part to Elite tournaments you’ll need to have taken part to “Referee Abroad” events in the past, and have done well. Or, you can ask a recommendation from your local FA for us to consider.
These “invitation only” events will definitely guarantee you a challenge, from a refereeing point of view, while offering you the possibility of officiating games in some of Europe’s top destinations. They include: the Africa Youth Cup, the Elite Neon Cup, the Albion Cup Spain.
Academy Tournaments
Part of our development network, Academy tournaments are reserved for referees who have been selected for our Referee Academy or its preparatory levels.
They include tournaments such as the Donosti Cup, the FIT Summer tournament and elite events in the Netherlands and Czech Repulic.
Check out our academy page for more details.
Starter Tournaments
Are you a young up-and-coming referee who would benefit from working together with more experienced match officials? At our starter tournaments we offer you the opportunity of doing so, while being mentored by qualified and experienced coaches.
You can choose to come to Paris, or one of our tournaments in Denmark.
