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Columbus Soccer Club will host an on-field training session for anyone interested in becoming a certified soccer referee. This is a great opportunity to get paid to watch soccer. The session will be held on Sunday, April 7th, from 1-3pm at the new Fieldhouse.

More soccer referees are needed in this area for club tournaments and league games, high school, AYSO, and adult soccer leagues. Becoming a soccer referee is a great way to make some extra money by watching soccer games, and a great way to stay in shape.

There will be plenty of referee opportunities in Columbus throughout the year for referees to earn money officiating soccer games. The soccer club is working together with other local leagues to certify new referees who can get paid for many different levels of soccer throughout the year.  No longer will a referee have to wait for just one or two weekends to put their certification to good use. And now, with the new Fieldhouse in Columbus, there is a chance that referees may be able to make money year-round in Columbus!

So how does one go about getting certified as a soccer referee? The first step is to complete an online training course offered through the U.S. Soccer Learning Center. While the course may take a few hours to complete, it does not have to be completed in a single sitting. You are free to work on it for a bit, walk away, and pick up where you left off at a later date and time when you are ready to resume the course. 

The second step is an on-field training session. Prior to attending an on-field training session, referees must have already completed their online course. The on-field training session only takes two hours, and it covers some of the signals and positioning a referee and assistant referee will need to know when out on the pitch. 

After that, you're done! You are now certified to referee soccer games of various levels here in Columbus and surrounding communities! One thing to note is that returning referees only need to complete an online recertification course, and an on-field training session is not required (although it doesn't hurt to freshen up your skills there either).

The Nebraska Referee Development Program, through Soccer Internationale in Omaha, offers new referees ages 17 & younger a free starter kit of referee equipment. Also, Columbus Soccer Club offers incentives for referees as well, including reimbursement for your certification costs and other goodies for helping referee a minimum number of games.

Click here to visit our REFEREE RESOURCES page, and click the image below to download a copy of the flyer for our upcoming referee training session. If you are interested in attending this event, or need more information about becoming a soccer referee, please complete our Referee Contact form on our Referee Resources page, and our Head Referee will contact you soon.