Overview of Referee System
Referee's qualification
To be referee at a football or futsal match organised by Japan Football Association or other affiliated football associations, a qualification is required.
Football Referees （Number of referees until 1 April 2022：267,572）
| Class | Number of referees | Skill | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Class 1 | 212 | Can referee football matches organised by JFA |
|
Women Class 1 |
53 | Can referee women's football matches organised beyond the competence of JFA or matches of 2nd , 3rd , 4th category. |
 |
Class 2 | O-18 : 3,734 | Can referee football matches organised by regional football associations. |
| U-18 : 8 | |||
| U-15 : 0 | |||
 |
Class 3 | General : 34,192 | Can referee football marches organised by prefectural football associations. |
| U-18 : 627 | |||
| U-15 : 33 | |||
 |
Class 4 | General : 131,190 |
Can referee football matches organised by prefectural football associations' branches and by groups and federations etc. registered in the districtual / municipal / local football associations. ※ Class 4 referees who has been recognized as particularly excellent by Prefectural football associations can referee football matches organised by Prefectural football associations. |
| U-18 : 70,944 | |||
| U-15 : 26,579 |
Futsal Referees（Number of referees until 1 April 2022：21,756）
| Class | Number of referees | Skill | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Futsal Class 1 | 54 | Can referee futsal matches organised by JFA as referee or assistant referee. |
 |
Futsal Class 2 | 890 | Can referee futsal matches organised by regional football associations as referee or assistant referee. |
 |
Futsal Class 3 | General : 3,784 | Can referee futsal matches organised by prefectural football associations as referee or assistant referee |
| U-18 : 25 | |||
| U-15 : 0 | |||
 |
Futsal Class 4 | General : 15,695 | Can referee futsal matches organised by prefectural football associations' branches and by groups and federations etc. registered in districtual / municipal / local football associations, as referee or assistant referee. ※ Class 4 Futsal referees who has been recognized as particularly excellent by Prefectural football associations can referee football matches organised by Prefectural football associations as referees or assistant referees. |
| U-18 : 961 | |||
| U-15 : 347 |
Referee instructor's qualification
Football referee instructors（Number of football instructors until 1 April 2022：2,819）
| Class | Number | Skill |
|---|---|---|
| Class S | 26 | Can supervise, assess, certificate class1 to class 4 referees and class1 to class 3 instructors. |
| Class 1 | 122 | Can supervise, assess, certificate class 1 to class 4 referees and class 2 to class 3 instructors. |
| Class 2 | 834 | Can supervise, assess, certificate class 2 to class 4 referees and class 3 instructors. |
| Class 3 | 1,837 | Can supervise, assess, certificate class 3 to class 4 referees. |
Futsal referee instructors（Number of Futsal referee instructors until 1 April 2022：584 ）
| Class | Number | Skill |
|---|---|---|
| FUTSAL Class 1 |
33 | Can supervise, assess, certificate Futsal class 1 to class 4 referees and futsal class 2 to class 3 instructors. |
| FUTSAL Class 2 |
202 | Can supervise, assess, certificate Futsal class 2 to class 4 referees and futsal class 3 instructors. |
| FUTSAL Class 3 |
349 | Can supervise, assess, certificate Futsal class 3 to class 4 referees. |
