30 October 2018 – Head of Referees, Tenda Masikhwa said he is extremely excited by the competency of young and up-and-coming match officials.
Masikhwa said he was tremendously thrilled following weekend matches, especially the Soweto derby handled by Eketsang Setloboko where he was ably assisted by Lalelani Mngadi, Elphas Sitole and Cedrick Muvhali.
“We have received massive positive feedback from all corners of the country including outside people who watched this derby across the world. It was refreshing to see even the spectators applauding the good work of our match officials. It is rare to see referees getting such positive feedback from the public,” said Masikhwa.
The SAFA head of referees said SAFA will continue pouring resources in assisting and making our referees remain on top of their game.
SAFA’s chair of the Referees Committee, Natasha Tsichlas said the Association was pleased with evident general improvement of referees’ performance in recent past.
She picked up the likes of Jelly Chavani, Luxolo Badi, Abongile Tom, Masixole Bambiso, Eugene Mdluli, Philangenkosi Khumalo, Thokozani Mkhize as among upcoming referees who had done well in handling their matches.
Tsichlas also paid tribute to young referees, Moreki Lekwape and Karabo Mokau who made their maiden appearances in the NFD this past weekend when they handled the Witbank Spurs vs TS Sporting and TS Galaxy vs Maccabi respectively with aplomb.
“People will continue seeing more and more young referees coming into the fold in the coming weeks. These are products of the Young Talent or the Youth Development Programme which the Association is driving vigorously,” said Tsichlas.