Referees sharpen skills for PSL season

THE ZIFA Referees Committee has started preparing the ground for the anticipated early kick-off of the 2024 Premier Soccer League season.

The committee’s chairperson Norman Matemera yesterday revealed programmes are already in place to equip the referees for the task ahead.

He also announced that FIFA will be sending a delegation of instructors in April for a referees course that should help the Zimbabwean match officials recover from the FIFA ban that crippled operations in the last two years.

“We gather that the 2024 season is starting early, so we have started working with beginner referees. So in early February they should write their exams and we will have more assessments with our referees,” said Matemera.

“In April we should have a FIFA Member Association referees course. This has already been approved by FIFA. So what it means is that in early April, I think from 1 to 12 April, we will be having FIFA instructors here in Zimbabwe to conduct the course.

“We have applied early for this programme so that by the end of year our referees would have covered ground,” said Matemera.

Zimbabwean match officials have been ostracised for almost two years because of a FIFA ban that was imposed in February 2022 and lifted in July 2023.

The bas cost Zimbabwean referees opportunities to officiate in international assignments and also had a huge bearing in them not being considered for the upcoming AFCON tournament to be held in Cote d’Ivoire.

CAF unveiled a list of 68 officials, consisting of 26 centre referees, 30 assistant referees, and 12 Video Assistant Referees (VARs).

The tournament will take place from 13 January to 11 February and Zimbabwe’s Warriors will also miss the event after they were excluded from the qualifiers due to the FIFA suspension.

“The reason we don’t have referees going to AFON is that our referees were not eligible for international assignments due to the FIFA suspension in the last two years.

“The selection of the referees started soon after the previous AFCON tournament held in Cameroon and it has been going on for two years.

“Since it is not an overnight event, none of our referees could make it because of the FIFA suspension. The selection process started around about the time we were suspended.

“CAF had a huge pool that they had earmarked, which excluded our referees, and it’s that list that has now been trimmed,” said Matemera.

Egypt and Morocco have the highest number of referees — three apiece — shortlisted for the up-coming AFCON finals, while South Africa’s Abongile Tom and Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo of Democratic Republic of Congo represent the Southern African region on the list of 26 centre referees

“Technically, when we were banned, we had no referees from Zimbabwe on the international panel. Our referees only bounced back recently, with effect from January 1, 2024, to be specific.

“So they are only three days on the panel and for them to be considered for such an important event as the AFCON is impossible,” said Matemera.

Angola, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zambia have contributed assistant referees, with most of the VAR referees coming from north and west Africa.

Fourteen top Zimbabwe officials were appointed onto the FIFA panel for 2024, with effect from this week. That elite panel will have seven centre officials and six local assistant referees.

Reigning Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Referee of the Year Brighton Chimene headlines the cast of local officials on the FIFA panel. The others are Lawrence Zimondi, veteran female official Mercy Mayimbo, Grace Gimo, Tichaona Mbire, Thabani Ruzario and Thanks Nyahuye.

For the panel of assistants, Zimbabwe have the seasoned Thomas Kusosa leading a group that also includes vastly improved Tafadzwa Nkala, Claris Simango, Progress Chatsamwa, Luckson Mhara, Dominica Melusi and Edgar Rumeck.

With the quartet of Matemera, Stella Ruvinga, Brighton Nyika and Faith Mloyi having retired in 2022, four new faces have burst onto the panel.

These are Nkala, Mbire, Ruzario and Chatsamwa. Following their retirement, Matemera and Mloyi have since taken up posts on the ZRC, with the former being appointed chairman of that key wing of the game.*