Every game needs one and now FootballSouth is out looking for more of them.
The men (and women) in the middle, the whistlers, the referees - whatever you call them - they are vital to the game. As part of an initiative to get more referees involved in football, a national referees week is being promoted nationwide next week.
FootballSouth referee development officer Wilson James said the week would include seminars on how to become a referee and information on what was needed to get started in the role.
He said in the past referees did their time in the middle and worked to the top over many seasons.
But that has changed, with the development of referees accelerated by specialist intensive technical and fitness training. Fifa supplied a range of interactive training modules to help expedite referee development.
James said there were about 50 qualified and experienced referees in the South, a figure he would like to double. FootballSouth covers the area south of South Canterbury.
Premier league games and division two games usually had referees but the leagues below that struggled to get a qualified official and that had an impact on games.
He said football was a relatively simple sport to referee, with 17 laws of the game. The main laws centred around the offside rule and fouls and misconduct, which all referees needed to fully understand.
He said compared with a sport like rugby, football was relatively simple to referee.
People could referee from their teenage years. One way to learn was to start out as an assistant referee, running the touchline, and watching an experienced official control a game.
Wilson said it would be good to gain some younger referees as they had a long future in the game.
One of those was Calvin Berg, a University of Otago student from the United States, who started refereeing when he was at school.
He said he loved the game and though he was not a great player he could still be a big part of the game as a referee.
He trained five times a week, and had refereed up to ASB premiership level, depite only being 19.
The Dallas native has made an impression since arriving in Dunedin a couple of years ago and refereed at a top youth tournament in the North Island last season.
Those who are interested in becoming a referee should contact Wilson James or go to the FootballSouth website.
