Become a Referee

The Edinburgh and District Referee Association covers matches in leagues throughout the city itself, together with the Borders and the Lothians.
Our Instruction team run the following courses:-

  • Referee Awareness courses for those looking for a better understanding of the Laws of the Game in a short 3 hour session and providing an introduction to refereeing
  • Referee Entrants’ courses for those who wish to become referees, giving a full introduction to the basics around the Laws and enabling successful candidates to begin their refereeing career upon passing of the Entrants’ exam.
  • Advanced referee courses for current referees who wish to progress to refereeing in the Senior and Junior grades of the game and covers the more intricate areas of the Laws and covering a number of potential scenarios that are uncommon but can occur both on and off the field of play.
  • Futsal courses for referees who have passed the Entrants’ course and wish to take up refereeing in the fast-paced indoor version of the game, which is growing significantly throughout the region.

There is also the new option of our online classes which allows candidates to train online in their own time. The course includes interactive match footage, an in-depth IFAB Laws of the Game exam and offers an alternative choice alongside the face-to-face training already in place for those looking to begin their refereeing journey. To book your place on the online course or for more info please see scottishfa.thewhistle.academy

Our next in person course which will be held at the Oriam, Heriot Watt will be on the following dates:-

August 2023
Monday evening’s (date tbc)
Referee Entrants’ course
7pm-9pm

All courses are advertised through social media on Twitter and Facebook. Anyone interested should contact us via the Scottish Football Association website here.