Training for football referees

Endurance training

Training for increased fitness can be carried out at low, moderate and high intensity. In order to form a good training base, you need to train at low to moderate intensity over a longer period of time. The amount and intensity are gradually increased and adapted individually.

- Interval training is the most time-efficient form of fitness training. The intensity must be high, so that you get really out of breath. If you have a heart rate monitor, it is recommended to stay above 80% of your maximum heart rate, preferably slightly higher for short intervals. Higher intensity requires a longer recovery time,” says Gitte Madsen-Kaarød.

She is a physiotherapist and has been a physical trainer for NFF's top referees since 2016, via Idrettens Helsesenter, and is also sports manager for Wang Oslo Håndball.

Here are examples of interval sessions from Gitte:

• Example 1:
  - Interval: 4x4min, rest 2minutes between intervals.
• Example 2:
  -  Pyramid interval long version: 2-3-4-5-4-3-2min. Breaks half of the previous work period.
• Example 3:
  - Pyramid interval medium version: 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 min, break half of the previous work period.
• Example 4: 
  - Pyramid interval, short version: 0.5-1-1.5-2-1.5-1-0.5 min, pause half of previous work period.

Training for increased speed

If you want to become faster, it is essential to run at maximum speed during speed training. Vary the length of your runs and the number of times you run. Remember that speed training is demanding on the muscles in your legs, which makes a good warm-up and recovery extra important. It's better to do fewer, good runs than to do a lot of sprints of poorer quality.

- Strength training also increases speed. It's important to have a “strong engine” to develop enough power to run fast. Strength training is often underestimated as an important part of becoming faster, and it also prevents injuries,” says Christian Moen.

He is a physiotherapist and physical trainer for NFF Akershus, a research fellow at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, and is also a referee in the Elite Series.

Here he gives an example of a sprint session:

- Pyramide sprints: 2x20m, 2x30m, 2x40m, 2x30m, 2x20m. Calmly return to the start before a new sprint. This can alternatively be carried out with one sprint per length and later progress to two sprints per length.

Exercises on the football pitch

There are many good training exercises that can be performed on a football pitch. UEFA has created an overview with examples of exercises that you can download here.

- “By carrying out the training on a football pitch, where many of the movements are similar to matches, the training will be more specific and relevant to what we do in a match,” says Moen.

Injury prevention training

Preventing injuries is achieved through a good warm-up, strength training, training planning and good technique.

- With football referee on Fit to Play, you can find inspiration for exercises and watch videos of a good warm-up. I encourage everyone to download the app and use Skadefri in their training,” says Madsen-Kaarød.