Evolution of referees Speed tests, superfoods, data and psychologists

+ PGMO puts officials through their paces on the Costa Blanca and offers an insight into what goes on offthe pitch

- Ben Fisher

"Three, two, one," comes the countdown from Francis Bunce, a senior sports scientist at the referees' body Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO), before he blows the whistle to kick off the much-anticipated maximal aerobic speed (Mas) test. It is 8.53am at the La Finca resort on the Costa Blanca, about 30C and the warm-up has very much been and gone. This a six-minute all-out run. "They call it Mas because at the end you're just praying for it to finish," says a smiling Keith Hill, one of the referee coaches observing the session with Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer.

Part of Webb wishes he had a time machine, so he could teleport here a minibus of referees at their peak in 2003, when he joined the Premier League list, to witness the evolution of training. Now they run approximately 12km a game and use technology such as Playermaker, straps that attach to boots and can read running gaits, track how quickly officials change direction and identify injuries.

Scott Ledger, who has been an assistant referee on more than 500 Premier League games, is wearing boots fit for the occasion, Adidas Copa Mundials decorated with the Spanish flag. This is day three of a five-day pre-season camp but the Mas is the main event from a physical perspective.

For 63 officials, including 19 Premier League referees, all in identical navy kit, the exercise runs simultaneously in two waves on the upper and lower pitches. Two others are doing rehab on Wattbikes and a handful are missing owing to Club World Cup and Women's Euro 2025 duty. Some officials here are on the PGMO's development programme, including Elliot Bell, son of the former Accrington assistant manager Jimmy. At a glance it looks like an elite club at work, the giveaway the absence of balls or nets. "Players want to be in the starting XI, officials want to be in the starting 10 on the Premier League team sheet for that first match round," Webb says.