Whether you’re a beginner refereeing youth league or a professional with lots of experience, you need the optimal gadgets to excel at your job. A soccer game is all about timing, so number one on the list? Keeping track of the game. And in order to do that, you need the best soccer referee watch that doesn’t only help you track time but is also durable for the long run. So after doing some (did I miss saying extensive?) research, we’re here to present our selection of top soccer referee watches!
Let’s help you find the soccer referee watch you’re looking for to track the time and make you a successful and possibly the best soccer referee you can be.
Did you ever think a smartwatch could be an excellent alternative to traditional referee watches? If you’re a stylish referee who likes to wear a smartwatch that keeps you notified, this watch is for you.
Fossil Gen is our top pick of the day as it’s compatible with Android and Apple phones, so you are backed by both if you search for a versatile watch. What stands it out is the battery life which lasts 24 hours and can be upgraded with a multi-day extended mode. You can charge the battery extremely fast – within an hour.
The foremost thing a referee needs is a bright display to view items clearly. Unlike other watches, this smartwatch spins 360 degrees to facilitate the reading of the referee.
Similar to other premium smartwatches, this watch also tracks heartbeats and monitors sleeping goals and restfulness. Moreover, the watch is also equipped with GPS, so distance and activity tracking gets easier.
You’ll be amazed to know this – smartwatches are usually fragile, and we keep them aside from water, so they function correctly. This watch is an exception with its swimming-proof qualities.
As imaginable, it’s possible to install apps on it. From fitness to music and other social media platforms, this watch offers a number of benefits to people who are looking for a versatile watch.
And last but not least, you can download the REFSIX app – probably the best app in the market for refereeing. It gives an excellent recording of every match’s critical updates and incidents. You can register goals, modify them, the time of the goal, and the author of the goal. It’s a fantastic app!
The SUNNTO Sports Watch is packed with intelligent features like a Storm Alarm, Altimeter, Barometer, and compass to keep you informed of the weather conditions. The watch also has dual times, a date display, an alarm, and predicted times for sunrise and sunset.
The Scandinavian design with ultra-durable material keeps your hand at ease while tracking everything accurately. Founded in 1936, SUNNTO watches bring over 80 years of high-quality heritage craftsmanship with relentless accuracy, compasses, GPS tracking, and more.
With that said, the versatility and durability of the watch are unquestionable. This watch is an excellent option for fitness freaks as it’s a great option for cycling, gym workouts, and other outdoor sports – if you’re doing some for yourself outside refereeing the leagues.
PS: The company says that it’s best tactical for all-rounder use. Do you agree?
With an exclusive dual independent game timer, where one runs on a countdown from full minutes to another, while the other goes up in 1/100 seconds, this Robic black plastic watch is designed specifically for soccer referees to help them perform better on the pitch.
When the crowd is too noisy, and it gets difficult for you to track the accurate time, the alarm feature that beeps 30 seconds before the actual time got you covered. You can either keep the sound on or change to vibration mode.
This watch offers 1/100 seconds resolution to an impressive 50-memory recall stopwatch. If you referee matches at night as well, don’t worry – it has a powerful luminescent light.
While it gets difficult for some non-tech-familiar hands to set the watches, setting up this watch is pretty simple, and you can learn the features in no time. Besides, it is water-resistant, so it has the ability to handle any weather without losing its accuracy.
The best part? This watch offers a replaceable battery option, so when one battery dies, you can replace it with another one.
With a beasty 18 days battery life with typical usage to 9 days with heavy usage and up to 40 hours with continuous GPS, you can go nonstop with this military standard certified watch. The Amazfit T-Rex 2 Smartwatch comes with a 1.3 HD AMOLED and is water-resistant to accompany you on a rainy day on the pitch.
Having passed 15 military tests, this watch continued to stand still and has the ability to battle with you against all kinds of weather. Moreover, this watch offers 100 sports modes and can be used to monitor critical data such as movement speed, distance traveled, workout heart rate, and other features to track athletic performance.
The only downside of this watch is the Polycarbonate body – which isn’t exactly a downside, but some people prefer other materials. It isn’t the cheapest watch, but trust us, this one-time investment will make your life easier in the long run.
For the rest, this watch proves itself to be one of the most amazing options out there, not only for refereeing but also when you’re out exploring your favorite places!
The most exclusive feature of this watch is the countdown timer, as it offers the possibility of a thirty-second timer before the timer hits zero. After the thirty seconds warning, the timer starts counting up. This is an excellent feature if you need to add extra time to what was initially planned.
This watch’s display is smaller than the rest of the watches on our list, but it is light, and you barely feel it on the wrist. This Ultrak watch is an ideal option for those who are looking for an all-terrain watch as it is not only very accurate and efficient for refereeing but also very comfortable for various training.
This light and durable Cassio watch is yet another handy option for soccer referees. The resin case offers long years of use, and the ten years lasting lithium battery sets an excellent cost-quality and worth-it kind of relationship.
Casio perhaps is the most recognized watches brand on the planet due to the durability it offers. Every Casio design offers simple yet effective devices to their users – not to forget the aesthetic bliss attached to them. This watch is typical of Casio’s sober design, durable, and straightforward to use.
The Casio W800-1AV offers the brand’s classical aesthetics and proven efficiency. But what stands it out among the competitors? Well, the ten-year life of its lithium battery is challenging to pair with any sports watch on the market.
Supported by a powerful electro-luminescent backlight and a large dial, this watch can be used to practice any kind of support. The adjustable band of this watch is made of high-quality Polyurethane (PU) and is the perfect blend of softness and duration. It is also protected by a strong resin case to ensure the band’s durability and has a Japanese machine and a digital display.
The digital display makes it easy for soccer referees to read on the pitch. Since the watch is water and sweat-proof, you can wear it on both rainy and sunny days; however, make sure not to press buttons when it is raining or underwater.
Other features of the watch include an auto-calendar and LED display. This watch is so durable that people have started using it as a military watch more than a sports watch.
Leap is well-known for making excellent quality chess clocks. The Leap Referee Watch is suitable not only for soccer but also for other sports. This watch is a great choice for recording the time of goals, misconduct, etc.
What stands this watch out is the injury time feature and countdown tracker. Leap Referee Watch makes refereeing a game easy – when you have set a timer, the watch will beep ten seconds before the time is up, indicating you to take necessary actions before an unwanted turn. It also has a 1/100 chronograph and measures up to 9 hours.
The display is bright and shows the day, month, and year. Other features include auto-calendar and can be set up to 14/24 hour mode per your liking. Well, and not to forget this masterpiece’s lithium battery and adjustable alarms.
Pros
Very economical
Lightweight
10 recallable laps and split memories
Cons
Programming might irritate some people
Choosing the Best Soccer Referee Watch – Our Buying Guide
Every sports watch contains unique features like a stopwatch or alarm to keep one updated. Those specific needs highly depend upon every referee’s competition level and career stage.
You will need a simple device to set up things for you if you’re a beginner. However, if you’re an experienced referee, watches with some extra features will be a better option.
When you’re looking for a watch to use in training sessions and during the day, a robust and durable watch might be the one you’re looking for.
So, before you decide, use these guidelines to choose the best soccer referee watch.
Warranty
For starters, you need to think that you’re using the watch while running, sweating, and making significant physical efforts, and be realistic; you might also end up on the floor after a stumble. So you might want to choose a watch with at least a one-year warranty from the company.
Durability
We can’t emphasize more that – it’s impossible to foresee how long a watch will last. Although customer rating is your guide to deciding what you want to get, it’s essential to pay attention to the materials used to produce the product. A cheap watch with a few features that last only a couple of months isn’t cheap but expensive.
Demand
The demand for a thing indicates the quality of the product. Sports watches are usually used in extreme weather conditions, so if there’s a demand for a watch in the market or among your peers, do thorough research and go for it!
Screen display
A watch with shortcut buttons enabled once pressed with a home screen that displays 3 to 4 points of critical time information within a single view part is definitely essential. Also, clearly readable font with an adjustable size setting is one of the compulsory watch requirements for a referee.
Functionality
Depending on your expertise level, you’ll need to weigh the functionalities you want the watch to do for you. This includes, but isn’t limited to the options like:
Tracking injury and stoppage time.
Time measurement and formatting.
The opportunity to save recorded data.
A backlight button for enabling visibility in poorly lit venues.
Audible speakers for emitting loud noises.
Material
Your comfort comes at the top; the rest shall follow. While choosing a watch for yourself, remember that there’s no significant difference in durability between the resin, PU, and other plastic cases. Resin tends to last longer and is said to assimilate hits better than PU. However, if the strap band has metallic components, it might end up burning your skin when you’re in hot places (that you’re prone to due to the nature of your job, of course) and may leave a mark after profusely sweating. So, it is you who has to decide on the material.
Water-Resistance
Let’s say that you are hosting a soccer championship that is played in heavy rain; and, of course, you don’t want to have to worry about your watch getting wet. However, if you are refereeing matches indoors or in dry conditions, water resistance may not be such an important factor.
Customer rating
For a better experience, reading customer ratings and reviews is essential before purchasing any product. Other users’ experiences might be what you need to decide whether to get the watch or not. Most of the time, people leave detailed reviews about the product under the reviews section. Those reviews are not paid for by the company and are shared genuinely; therefore, they would describe the real impression on the product.
Price
After defining the specs, we believe that the watch price shall have the last word in the decision – which is why we’ve put it last. It’s necessary to consider all points and evaluate the best option for yourself. Of course, you get what you pay for, however, sometimes it’s necessary to save money. In such cases, there are a lot of affordable referee watches that might have all the features you need.
Best Soccer Referee Watch – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What kind of watch does a soccer referee need?
It just depends on your needs and what you are looking for in a watch. You might want to consider a sports watch that has a stopwatch feature and is water resistant. Or, you might just want a simple, yet stylish watch to wear while officiating soccer games. Whatever your needs are, there is sure to be a watch out there that is perfect for you!
How long can I expect a good referee watch to last?
A good referee watch should last for several years with proper care. However, if you plan to use your watch for heavy activity or in extreme conditions, it may only last a few months. Referee watches are designed to withstand normal wear and tear – they are not indestructible. If you take care of your watch and avoid exposing it to excessive heat, cold, or water, it should serve you well for many years.
Why do soccer referees sometimes wear two watches?
Referees sometimes wear two watches to calculate the extra time that has accumulated with the 45 minutes half. The first watch runs continuously as an official timepiece while the second watch is stopped and started after stoppages during the game, such as an injury incident.
For this reason, a referee watch that offers multiple functions at the same time should be your top pick. It’s better to choose one premium watch to help you perform the best on the pitch without having anything to hold you back.
Conclusion
Referees face a hard time on the pitch while performing their duties. They have to be attentive to the quality of the game and keep the players on track by keeping a record of their time. In such a scenario, a soccer watch for referees comes as a handy option. The exposure to extreme weather conditions can be solaced only when they are equipped with the right tools.
While many options are available in the market, it gets intimidating to decide on the right choice for yourself. You want to make sure that your watch has a large enough display and the ability to customize multiple timers when running a game. At the very least, you’ll need to count up and count down multiple timers and stoppage time timers so that you don’t lose track of the game. We hope our list has helped you find the best soccer referee watch.
