Bondo to officiate AFCON finals in Cameroon
I cannot comment on the matter for now, we have not as BFA, received an official communication from CAF regarding the subject
Botswana referee official, Joshua ‘ the Sprinter’ Bondo’s exceptional performances in the CAF assignments has once again afforded him a spot as an officials in the upcoming AFCON finals to be held in Cameroon, according to reports.
Informants inside the Botswana Football Association ( BFA) indicate that the renowned referee, who has missed out on being part of the officials for the 2022 Qatar World cup finals, will be looking to impress at the AFCON finals and stands a chance to be considered for a stand- by at the world cup.
The veteran referee has been a standout local football export for the past few years and has consistently dished out some impressive performances at the highest levels. He continue to be recognized by Africa’s football governing mother body, CAF, as one of the best in the continent.
The local referee has been active in CAF assignments and was entrusted to officiate in CAF champions League matches and AFCON qualifiers, including finals and crucial matches.
Handling the knockout stages of the AFCON finals in Cameroon will be crucial for Bondo as the matches are reported to be critical for the referee to earn points to qualify him for major FIFA assignments.
“I cannot comment on the matter for now, we have not as BFA, received an official communication from CAF regarding the subject. We are hopeful that he’ll make the cut; he is one of CAFs’ category A referees, and that means he is highly rated and therefore should be amongst the officials for CAF Finals,” BFA referees’ manager, Phodiso Rasetsoga responded when contacted for comment.
Rasetshoga further expressed delight for the performances of Bondo and added that as the association they are working hard to identify and nurture officials who will look at the Sprinter as their role model.
He said this will enable them to have more representation in continental and global games which will be key for the development of their referees.
“For now we have Kitso Sibanda and Tirelo Mositwane, who are in the category of young talents in Africa. We are hopeful that they will progress to elite B and elite A, where Bondo is ranked,” Rasetshoga revealed.
CAF has consistently kept faith in the Botswana official after handing him his AFCON finals debut in 2017.
In the last edition of the AFCON finals ( 2019), the local referee made it to the semi- finals of the tournament as the fourth official after he expertly handled Nigeria versus Cameroon in the quarterfinals.