Fifa fitness test for referees (men and women)

The Fifa fitness test for referees (men and women) is introduced to measure the physical ability of match officials. The test has been renewed in 2016 and a different test have been made for assistant referees.

The test for assistant referees is a little different. If you’re still looking for the test that was used before this one, check the old high-intensity interval test (the one with 150m sprints).

How to prepare? FIFA physical instructor Stephen Oduor gave advice on your fitness test preparation.

Introduction to the Fifa fitness test for referees

The official fitness test for football referees consists of two tests. Test 1, Repeated Sprint Ability (RSA), measures the referee’s ability to perform repeated sprints over 40m. Test 2, Interval Test, evaluates the referee’s capacity to perform a series of high-speed runs over 75m interspersed with 25m walking intervals.

Requirements:

• The time between the end of Test 1 and the start of Test 2 should be 6 to 8 minutes maximum.
• Tests must be performed on an athletics track or a natural/artificial football field.
• Athletic spikes may NOT be worn during the tests.

Test 1: Repeated Sprint Ability

Procedure

1. The ‘start’ gate should be placed at 0m and the ‘finish’ gate at 40m. The ‘start line’ should be marked out 1.5m before the ‘start’ gate.
2. Referees should line up at the start with their front foot touching the ‘start line’. Once the test leader signals that the electronic timing gates are set, the referee is free to start.
3. Referees should receive a maximum of 60 seconds recovery between each of the 6 X 40m sprints. During their recovery, referees must walk back to the start.
4.  If a referee fails one trial out of the six, they should be given a seventh trial immediately after the sixth trial. If they fail two trials out of seven, the match official has failed the test.

Reference times for men referees

• International and category 1: maximum 6.00 seconds per trial
• Category 2: maximum 6.10 seconds per trial
• Lower categories: maximum 6.20 seconds per trial

Reference times for women referees

• International and category 1: maximum 6.40 seconds per trial
• Category 2: maximum 6.50 seconds per trial
• Lower categories: maximum 6.60 seconds per trial

Test 2: Interval Test

Procedure

1. Referees must complete 40 x 75m run / 25m walk intervals. This equates to 4,000m or 10 laps of a 400m athletics track. The pace is dictated by the audio file and reference times are set in accordance
   with the referee’s category.
2. Referees must start from a standing position. They must not start before the whistle. To ensure that referees do not start early, assistant test leaders should be positioned at each start line to control the
   start.
3. At the end of each run, each referee must enter the ‘walking area’ before the whistle. The walking area is marked out with a line 1.5m before and 1.5m behind the 75m line.
4. If a referee fails to place a foot inside the walking area on time, they should receive a clear warning from the test leader. If a referee fails to place a foot inside the walking area on time for a second occasion, they should be stopped by the test leader and informed that they have failed the test.

Reference times for men referees

• International and category 1: maximum 15 seconds per 75m run and 18 seconds per 25m walk
• Category 2: maximum of 15 seconds per 75m run 20 seconds per 25m walk
• Lower categories: maximum 15 seconds per 75m run and 22 seconds per 25m walk

Reference times for women referees

• International and category 1: maximum 17 seconds per 75m run and 20 seconds per 25m walk
• Category 2: maximum 17 seconds per 75m run and 22 seconds per 25m walk
• Lower categories: maximum 17 seconds per 75m run and 24 seconds per 25m walk