How to become a Sports Referee and Umpire
Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 裁判员
Runs sports competitions under their rules and refereeing methods, and decides scores, results and rankings.
Main tasks
- Starting the competition under the rules
- Controlling the course of the competition under the rules
- Penalising players who break the rules
- Deciding the result under the rules
Ways in
- University: Allied Health degrees, Offered by 62 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Sport Science (0402); majors such as Sports Training, Physical Education, Community Sports Instruction and Management, Human Movement Science, Martial Arts and Traditional Ethnic Sports, Sports Rehabilitation. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
- Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Sports Training (570303). Vocational major 570303 Sports Training (运动训练), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Community Sports Instruction and Management (370301). Vocational major 370301 Community Sports Instruction and Management (社会体育指导与管理), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Strength and Conditioning (370303). Vocational major 370303 Strength and Conditioning (体能训练), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Sports Nutrition Consulting and Guidance.
Pay · AI and this job
- Median pay in China: CN¥72,900 a year (2025).
- Middle half: CN¥50,000 to CN¥112,800. One in ten earn less than CN¥37,000 and one in ten more than CN¥172,000.
- This is the figure for the mid group Literature, Arts and Sports Professionals, not for this job alone.
- National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
- Guangzhou only: median CN¥64,059 a year (2025), middle half CN¥48,000 to CN¥74,904.
- This is the figure for the minor group Sports Professionals, not for this job alone.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- The census group Literature, Arts and Sports Professionals holds 0.18% of everyone employed in China; 42.7% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
- 65.5% are under 35, 30.4% are 35 to 54 and 4.1% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 30 to 34.
- Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a Sports Referee and Umpire?
Ways in include: Allied Health degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Sports Training (570303); Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Community Sports Instruction and Management (370301).
How much does a Sports Referee and Umpire earn in China?
Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥72,900 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Literature, Arts and Sports Professionals. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥64,059 a year (2025).
Will AI change the work of a Sports Referee and Umpire?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
- Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.
Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.
Updated 5 October 2026