15 August 2017 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) Thabo Mafutsanyana region will be conducting the 2017/18 season’s first Provincial Fitness Tests for referees on Saturday, 26 August at Gobler Park Stadium in Bethlehem, Free State.

A total of 60 male and female referees officiating in the various SAFA leagues have been invited to the fitness tests which will be conducted by some of the country’s best Refereeing Instructors such as Enock Molefe and Toko Malebo who are both former FIFA Referees and Stephen Moshotle.

A compulsory SAFA Level 4 and 5 Refereeing Examination will be written by the referees after the completion of their fitness tests which will determine whether the candidates are eligible to officiate in the upcoming season.

“As excited we are about the season ahead, we need to ensure that we have the best referees available to officiate our games. It is important that we conduct such fitness tests to ensure that all matches under the auspices of SAFA are officiated in a professional manner.

“Refereeing is one component which is critical in the development of the game and we want to produce the best referees in the country,” said SAFA Technical Committee Chairperson, Ms. Natasha Tsichlas.