ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a conceptual framework to help better understand the factors that influence the development and performance of officials. In turn, by establishing a rigorous base for explaining the complex demands on officials, it can contribute practical utility for framing strategic planning and program implementation and evaluation of officiating management agendas. The chapter also proposes that understanding the broader range of topics and outcomes in the officiating literature requires a more ecological, multidimensional approach. Indeed, a study of excellence in English Premier League (EPL) soccer referees supports the need for an ecological approach that recognizes the ways physical, environmental, and psychological factors intersect in official development and research. The chapter attempts to rationalize the relevance of each constraint with respect to understanding officiating. It tries to emphasize the importance of interactions between constraints, and the directionality within the model.
