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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
WORLD soccer mother-body, Fifa have written to all the 209 member associations to submit their nomination lists for the 2014 Fifa list of international referees by 20 September. Zimbabwe has six referees and three of them are females. It also has eight assistants and two of them are females.
In a circular, Fifa said it had enclosed the regulations governing the registration of referees and assistant referees for the avoidance of doubt.
Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze confirmed receipt of the Fifa circular and said the association will meet the set deadline.
“It’s already work in progress,” he said.
The last list from Zimbabwe raised a nationwide outcry as it was felt factionalism within the Zimbabwe Referees Committee led to some undeserving names being sent to Fifa and as a result of the outcry the majority of the referees are likely to end the year without even officiating in a single international match.
“We took note of the outcries and naturally as an association we would like to see only deserving referees’ names being forwarded,” said the Zifa head of secretariat.
According to the circular, proposed referees should be at least 25 years old or 23 years old in the case of assistant referees and shall not have reached the age of 45 by 1 January of the year for which they have been nominated unless they have previously appeared on the list which they are being proposed.
Quoting Article Four, Paragraph Seven, the circular said: “The proposed referees shall have passed the appropriate Fifa fitness test related to the list they belong to four months prior to the deadline for nomination for the lists of international referees and assistant referees (between 20.05.2013 and 20.09.2013).”
Fifa said nominated referees should have passed a medical examination certifying that they are fit to act as referees within the four months prior to the deadline for nomination.
The Fifa Referees’ Committee will examine all nominations and decide which to include in the 2014 Fifa lists of international referees.
“The proposed referees shall have officiated regularly at matches in the highest division in their country for at least two years. Only candidates who have officiated more often as assistant referees than as referees in the previous twelve months may be considered for the list of international assistant referees,” said Fifa.
Only women referees or women assistant referees who have passed Fifa’s physical fitness test for men may be nominated for men’s tournaments or matches.
The member associations shall supply Fifa with the rankings of the proposed referees based on the marks obtained at national level. These rankings shall apply only to first division matches at which they have officiated in the twelve months prior to their nomination.
Hwange duo of Bekezela Makeka and Hardly Ndazi, Kwekwe based referee Munyaradzi Majoni, Bulawayo’s referees Philani Ncube and Nduna Nkosana are some of the referees likely to be nominated.
It will not be coming as a surprise if some of the names already on the list are removed.
Online Reporter