Rolly Josephus Jalasi laid to rest

on Monday last week, was yesterday afternoon laid to rest at Mtapa Cemetery in Gweru.
Hundreds of mourners that included members of the soccer fraternity attended the burial.
In what has now turned out to be synonymous with local football leadership and administration, both Zifa Central Region executive and its provincial board members did not attend the burial which was however attended by former referees Joseph Mususa, Mike Manduna and Cedric Raisi.
His grave is just a stone’s throw from that of the late promising referee Ben Chauke and Wilbert Muringani, a match commissioner at the time of his death, revoking painful memories of the loss to the game just this year.
Speaker after speaker glowingly narrated the passion the former Gweru United and Bata Power soccer player and later turned soccer referee had in developing some of the would-be finest referees.
“I first met him at St Michaels where he stayed in the 60s. I had a moment of watching him as a player before he retired from playing. He decided to take up refereeing. It is his contribution to match officiating which saw him groom and encourage me.
“He trained me as a referee in 1985 and played a big part in my promotion to a Class One referee and later a Fifa panelist referee. He was a man who never believed in being emotional while correcting you.
“Off the field I had an opportunity to have more contact with him when I was teaching at Bata Primary School and he was employed by Bata,” said Mususa.
Ndubiwa said he encouraged Jalasi to take up refereeing in the 60s after he had retired from playing and in 1981 together with Cedric Raisi, they were promoted by the late Nelson Chirwa to Class One referees.
“I met him as a player when he was coming from Fletcher High School in the 50s and in the 60s, I encouraged him to take up refereeing. Together with Cedric (Raisi) and Muringani he was promoted to Class One by the late Nelson Chirwa.
“He served the game and at one time became my secretary in the provincial referees committee and later became the treasurer. He also served in the national committee and when he retired we brought in Martin Chiduku from Kwekwe.
“What a passion he had and his works are evident of a dedicated man who worked for the growth of the game and one of the first few to emerge from Gweru,” said Manduna.
He hung up the whistle after a difficult decision in which a goal had to be disallowed between Gweru United and Dynamos at Ascot Stadium sparking violence in the 90s.
Quite a tough call it was that even the assistant on the day, the late Muringani, could not decide after being consulted.
Jalasi is father to the late Pisa Pisa and State House Tornadoes (later renamed Darryn Tornadoes) player Allan and grandfather to former Caps United midfielder Gift Makoloni.