A Calgary man is now a member of the world's most elite pool of soccer referees.

Drew Fischer has been awarded the FIFA 2015 international badge, a honour held by only a handful of Canadians and two other male referees.

Calgary referee Drew Fischer is now qualified to officiate soccer at an international level. (Professional Referee Organization)

After years of training, the Calgary physicist is now qualified to officiate matches at the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.

"Every referee would love to referee a World Cup Final, but one guy gets to do that every four years. It's a slim pool," said Fischer.

He started when he was 13 years old as a way to "earn a couple of bucks in high school" and has been doing it professionally since 2007.

Fischer was hired four years ago by the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which assigns him to games across Canada and the United States.

He says the biggest tournament he's officiated to date was the AS Roma 1-0 victory over Real Madrid at the 2014 International Champions Cup in Dallas, Texas.

When asked by the Calgary Eyeopener on Monday what it feels like to be in a stadium with 60,000 people screaming abuses at him as a referee, Fischer said it's the best part of the game.

"It will sound strange, but in a a way, that's the part you remember afterwards," he said.

"Especially when you know you're right. You know, that's the best part."