adminCemetery here.
The 74-year-old former Zifa Class One referee collapsed and died at his Gweru home.
Surprisingly, despite the role played by Jalasi in local football, the Zifa leadership and Central Region officials were conspicuous by their absence at the burial.
Only former referees, Joseph Mususa, Mike Ndubiwa and Cedric Raisi were present.
Jalasi’s final resting place is just a stone’s throw away from where the late promising referee, Ben Chauke, and Wilbert Muringani, a former match assessor, also lie in the same graveyard.
Speaker after speaker glowingly narrated the passion the former Gweru
United and Bata Power player, who later turned into one of the finest referees this country has produced, had in football.
“I first met him at St Michaels where he stayed in the ‘60s,” said Mususa who grew up under Jalasi’s tutelage to become a referee of note.
“I had a moment of watching him as a player before he retired.
“He trained me as a referee in 1985 and played a big part in me being promoted to a Class One referee and later a Fifa panel referee.
“Off the field I had an opportunity to have another contact with him when I was teaching at Bata Primary School and he was employed by Bata.”
Ndubiwa said he encouraged Jalasi to take up refereeing in the ‘60s after he had just retired from playing and, in 1981, together with Raisi, was promoted by the late Nelson “Jumbo Jet” Chirwa to Class One.
“I had met him earlier 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,” said Ndubiwa.
“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 (that) he had and his works spoke of a dedicated man who worked for the positive growth of the game and one of the first few to emerge from Gweru.”
He retired from refereeing amid controversy after a disputed decision to disallow a goal in a fiery match between Gweru United and Dynamos at Ascot sparked violent disturbances.
Such was the tightness of the call that Muringani, who was the assistant referee on the day, could not make a decision after being consulted by Jalasi.
Jalasi’s son, Allan, turned himself into a star player at State House Tornadoes while his grandson, Gift Makoloni, played for CAPS United.
Online Reporter