Chronicle Editor
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
THE Zifa Referees Committee has come up with an ambitious plan to ensure the country’s match officials make it to international tournaments following an outcry following years of being sidelined.
The abilities of the local officials have been questioned after being consistently overlooked for tournaments such as the Africa Cup of Nations and Fifa World Cup. The association last year began a programme to enlist young referees that saw match officials as young as 17 starting to acquire their badges. The second edition of the Young Talent course that has some referees that took part last year in addition to new entrants who are all aged below 24. The virtual course started yesterday has 32 participants, aged between 19 and 25, and is running for three days.
Zifa referees committee chairman, Bryton Malandule said patience was needed if the country is going to see any match officials featuring in a World Cup or Afcon as it will not be an overnight move. He said the association is making a targeted approach to ensure there is a wide pool of upcoming referees.
“Match officials handling games in the 2022 Qatar World Cup were selected in 2018 at the end of the Russia World Cup as Fifa would want to groom them towards the event so we do not have an opportunity of ensuring one of our own is on that panel. We then decided to focus on coming up with match officials that would possibly be in line to be selected for the 2026 America World Cup,” he said.
Malandule said it is a step by step process with referees initially officiating in regional tournaments after which they may be selected for continental games and then being included in the Afcon before rising to the World Cup, the ultimate football showcase.
He said it was an embarrassment the country did not have any official at the 2019 Afcon, attributing this to the fact no referee is in the Caf Elite A panel with Norman Matemera only making it to the Caf Elite B hence chances of being selected for the tournament are slim.
“Without a referee in the Caf A panel it would be difficult to get one going on to the World Cup hence our first target would be to grace the Caf A panel. While we had some officials gracing the qualifiers none were at the tournament itself and this is something that should change,” said the former referee.
Malandule said they have earmarked two to three officials to make it to the Caf Elite A to ensure they first make it to Afcon and then proceed further.
Bongani Ndlovu