adminPaul Mundandi in ZVISHAVANE
BULAWAYO schoolboy, Kieron Watson, dreams of being the first Zimbabwean referee to handle matches at the FIFA World Cup.
Brighton Mudzamiri is the only Zimbabwean match official to officiate at the World Cup but as an assistant referee.
Watson is not an assistant referee but the main man.
“I want to be the first Zimbabwean to referee the World Cup final. I believe the sky is the limit for me,” said the 17-year-old Christian Brothers College schoolboy.
“I am also a very good goalkeeper and I am the first choice at school. I admire Manuel Neur (the German international goalkeeper).”
Kieron is the only white Zimbabwean referee who has fallen in love with the game.
Born and bred in Bulawayo he goes to officiate matches in the high density suburbs of the City of Kings.
He became the first white referee to take charge of the Copa Coca-Cola Under-17 final featuring Dewure and Rujeko last month.
“He is very enthusiastic and from the time he qualified he never looked back,” said Sabelo Maphosa.
“As a white person he could have feared to go to places like Magwegwe but he does not.
“The young man has a bright future.”
And his teacher agrees.
“He is a very good goalkeeper and an up-and-coming good referee,” his teacher Emmanuel Dhlodhlo said.
“I am very impressed by him although he has opted on being a referee than a player because at school he is my first choice goalkeeper who is very good at guarding the posts.”
Watson was encouraged to pursue refereeing by Dhlodhlo.
“At school I always officiated until my teacher urged me to take it seriously and went for a course under the watchful eye of a Michael Phiri and Kefas Chokuda and attained my Level Three,” he said.
“My desire is to become a Class One referee and after school I want to go to Ireland and peruse it seriously so that I will be considered for the World Cup.
“I am proudly Zimbabwean.”
His father, Layne has also been a pillar of strength as he always supports his son.
This was also seen by his attendance when his son was in the middle of the park at Barbourfields.
Zimbabwe introduced the revolutionary Copa Coca-Cola schools’ football tournament which is now boosting the development of football around the globe.
The global show is played in 60 countries, across five different continents and last year 80 000 schools participated from across the world.
Coca-Cola has been a proud sponsor of grassroots football for 27 years.
What started in Zimbabwe in 1989 was formalised under Copa Coca-Cola in 1998, when it was first launched in Mexico, to create the world’s largest and most inclusive football grassroots programme.
The global initiative gives millions of young footballers to come together and celebrate their passion for football.
The Coca-Cola company has a long-standing commitment to creating a positive impact on communities by promoting active health living.
The commitment is set to continue next decade and Coca-Cola will invest US$1 billion in supporting physical activity programmes among teenagers in the world.
Meanwhile, the study conducted by Coca-Cola shows that football makes teens happy.
“One of the most notable findings was a direct correlation between playing frequency and happiness. including data from the initially screened teenagers, we were able to compare happiness between those who play regular football and non-football playing teens and the results were startling.
“Almost three quarters (74%) of footballing teens rated themselves as happy (both on and off the pitch), dropping significantly to 57% for those who did not play football.
“Over two thirds (64%) felt football gave them something to get excited about in their lives, 20% feel a sense of pride playing football in front of family.
“(In) Latin America (the teenage footballers) have a playful approach with more focus on individual skill than team. Prefer natural flair to hard work.
“(In) Africa, team is key, football is something to be excited about (in) Asia (players) want to win, believe that hard practice pays off and think competitively enjoy showcasing their skills
“The benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle are well known; here we reveal how young players feel about the health benefits of football.
“Globally 75% of those interviewed feel active and fit with teenagers in two African countries, Nigeria (95%) and Egypt (88%), topping the poll
“Universally it was acknowledged that frequent playing leads to physical benefits with 88% feeling that playing more than twice a week is important to health and 32% believing you need to play football every day
“So while teens enjoy playing football for fun, they are also acutely aware of the physical benefits football provides and the research also revealed the more you play football, the healthier you feel. Age also seems to affect how fitness levels are perceived by younger teens (13-15), who feel they are fitter than older teenagers (16-18).”
Online Reporter