WaiBOP Football

If you’re a teenager looking to get into refereeing , we would love you to join one of our Youth Refereeing Academies.

These academies, run in Tauranga and Hamilton, offer a supportive environment for you to develop skills to referee both Football and Futsal.

At the end of the First Year, you will be qualified as a Level 1 Referee, and you will be able to be appointed to referee games, and earn some cash.

Our Academy Referees have opportunities at Junior and Youth Tournaments throughout the year, where we provide intensive coaching. This includes opportunities to referee at AIMS Games and the Weir Rose Bowl Tournament.

TAURANGA REFEREE ACADEMY - 2024

1st Year Academy
Held every Monday in term time for all Boys & Girls aged 13-19 yrs;

4.30pm - 5.30pm (13 - 16 yrs old)

5.30pm - 6.30pm (17 - 19 yrs old)

Tauranga Boys College. 664 Cameron Road Tauranga South, Tauranga.

2nd Year Academy
For those who have completed the first year academy, the second year involves once a month meetings.

Meetings are held on Wednesdays at 5.30pm

Tauranga Boys College. 664 Cameron Road Tauranga South, Tauranga.

Dates: 15th May, 19th June, 24th July, 14th August, 18th September, 16th October, 13th November

Sign up for Tauranga Academies HERE.

Contact BOP Youth Referee Coordinator Anna Harris - anna.h@waibop.co.nz for more information.

"After joining the referee academy in July the course had been going for a month already but I was made to feel so included and welcomed. Throughout the whole experience we have had the support of senior referees which has allowed me to grow my confidence with the whistle on the field. We have had so many cool experiences and opportunities to build our referring skills. Through the academy I have been able to get my level one football referee certificate and are currently working towards my futsal level one qualification with the help and support of Anna.

Many thanks to WaiBOP for providing this fantastic opportunity."

"Tauranga’s Referee Academy is a great opportunity for teenagers up to young adults who want to
become refs and learn more about the game. You get taught about the Laws of the Game, Signals, the
types of fouls and much more. There are also great opportunities to come from the Reffing Academy.
All the things they teach you about refereeing leads up to you being able to referee AIMS Games.
AIMS is a great experience for young Referees, you can either pick Futsal or Football, which I picked
Futsal. I was also lucky enough to be able to Referee the AIMS Girls Futsal final which was a huge
privilege. I definitely recommend the Referee Academy for all teenagers and young adults who want to
learn more about Football and to have cool experiences like Reffing AIMS Games and different
Tournaments."

HAMILTON 2024

TAURANGA 2024

Testimonials from our Youth Referees

Referee Pathways for Youth Referees