Every season a new group of referees finishes the course, many of them teenagers, and discovers that the kit list is short but not obvious. This is what you need for a first match and what can wait.
Shirt and shorts
Black is the traditional colour and the one to buy first. We carry referee shirts and shorts from Joma and Stanno: the Joma referee short-sleeve shirt with matching referee shorts, and the Stanno Bergamo referee shirt with the Como short. The Joma shorts come in junior sizes as well as adult, which matters, because a fourteen-year-old referee in an adult small looks and feels like a child in a borrowed kit.
A second colour
Sooner or later a team turns up in black or dark navy. The referee has to be distinguishable from both sides, so a second shirt in a different colour is the next thing to buy. One pair of black shorts goes with both.
Socks, and the bits in your pocket
- Black socks, long enough to stay up for ninety minutes.
- A whistle, and a spare. The spare lives in your pocket, not your bag.
- A watch with a stopwatch, and ideally a second one.
- Red and yellow cards, a notebook and a pencil. Pens stop working in the rain.
- A coin.
Your badge
Ask your County FA about its badge and where it should be worn before you add anything to the shirt. The product page says whether a garment can be personalised in our workshop.
Something for the cold
Referees warm up alone and stand around before kick-off like everyone else. A plain black training jacket or rain jacket over the kit is worth having from October onwards.
Clubs and leagues buying for their referees
Leagues and clubs that kit out their own young referees can put several sets in one basket. Anything over £100 gets 10% off automatically, UK delivery is £6 and free over £300, and a league or County FA can pay on a purchase order.
Where to look
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