Referee Development Pathway

The Referee Development Pathway aims to provide referees an overview of the requirements needed as well as the opportunities available at each level.

Find out more about the Referees Basic Course here.

Level	Description
Class 3 Assistant Referee (Entry Level)	All new referees will begin their journey as a Class 3 Assistant Referee upon successful completion of the FAS Referees Basic Course and a practical assessment match. As a Class 3 Assistant Referee, you will officiate in youth, grassroots and friendly matches and may subsequently progress to become a Class 3 Referee.
Class 3	Progression to a full-fledged Class 3 Referee is achieved through the successful completion of the Intermediate Referees Course and based on an individual’s performance in the field-based assessment, attendance in the Progressive Training Sessions and commitment in accepting matches. Referees will have the chance to officiate in higher levels of youth and school matches and may be appointed to the Women’s National / Premier League, Centre of Excellence (COE) and other FAS-sanctioned tournaments. There will also be opportunities for referees who have displayed potential to be selected to the Development Group and officiate competitive league matches.
Class 2	Referees will be required to fulfil certain criteria before being eligible for promotion to level 2 allowing them access to higher levels of the game. Class 2 Referees will have the opportunities to officiate in the Singapore Football League, in addition to previously mentioned matches. You will also be able to officiate in the COE U-21 league upon fulfilling fitness requirements. For further development and enhancement, referees will have to attend the Referees Advanced Course. You may choose to pursue your refereeing journey at a higher level as a Referee or Assistant Referee, with the advice of assessors and technical instructors.
Class 1	Promotion to a Class 1 Referee is largely based on field assessment and requires recommendation from assessors and technical instructors. As a Class 1 Referee, you are required to pass the mandatory fitness requirements and match assessment of matches before you are able to officiate in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) where your performance will be assessed at every match. Referees who have received recommendation from assessors and fulfilled certain criteria will be eligible for nomination to international games, subject to approval from the FAS Referees Committee.
FIFA	To be nominated as a FIFA Referee, you need to be at least 25 years (23 years for Assistant Referees) and at most 35 years of age on 1 January in the first year of nomination. The candidate will be required to be re-nominated and undergo medical and FIFA fitness tests every year. While there is no retirement age, FIFA reserves the right to require referees over the age of 45 to undergo additional technical assessments as well as specific medical examinations and fitness testing on a case-by-case basis. As a FIFA referee, you will have the opportunity to officiate international fixtures throughout Asia at club and international levels. Top match officials may have the chance to be appointed to FIFA tournaments including the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games.