FIFA have commended local referees for emerging the best in tests done in the Eastern and Southern African zone but challenged the match officials to attain the same levels with their showing on the pitches.Local referees converged at Prince Edward School yesterday for a high-level Fifa Member Association course that is being conducted by the world body’s referees development officer for Eastern and Southern Africa Carlos Henriquez and his trusted lieutenants Felix Tangawarima and Mark Mzengo. The trio have been regular visitors to Zimbabwe on missions aimed at building the capacities of local match officials who are on the Fifa and Zifa panels. Refreshingly for the local officials, some of whom have received a battering for their performances in the national leagues, they got a pat on the back from their regional boss Henrique, for some fine performances in the tests that the Fifa referees development office carries out every month. While it was all smiles on Day One of the Fifa Elite referees course, a dark cloud was gathering over the Zifa headquarters at 53 Livingstone Avenue, where the Messenger of Court was an unwelcome guest once again to attach some of the association’s property. The Messenger of court went off with some desks and a few computers after Zifa failed to settle a US$17 000 debt to private security company Viking. Zifa legal representative Ralph Maganga in confirming that the association owed Viking some money, insisted that his clients’ dire financial position had not really improved due to poor revenue inflows. Maganga said Zifa had earlier made a payment plan to service the Viking debt as well as a host of other creditors they owe money but the Warriors’ home matches they had been relying on for revenue had been “loss games’’. “It is now an open secret that Zifa is still struggling to service its debts and the Zimbabwe Football Trust is also still trying to mobilize resources to help in that regard. “I have not been in the office but I know that a payment had been made with the Viking lawyers and maybe they thought Zifa made a lot of money from the Zambia game but I understand that just like the previous home game against Mauritius, it was a loss game. “Zifa had asked for more time to settle the debt but it seems the Viking lawyers would not wait and they sought to attach property,’’ Maganga said. Zifa had since the Rafik Khan-era been dealing with Viking, who provided private security guards to all national teams matches. But the business partnership between the association and the security company broke down recently after Zifa, who are saddled with a staggering debt of over US$4 million, failed to pay up for services rendered.  Away from the gloom at Zifa House, the local referees, who are a central figure to all football competitions in the country, began their week-long course in high spirits. Fifa assistant referee Stella Ruvinga and the Zifa panel trio of Albert Dube, Adam Mutenha and Munyaradzi Majoni put a damper on the start of the course when they failed their fitness tests, a result that did not go down well with Henriquez, Tangawarima and Mzengo and even their local bosses like Joseph Mususa, Wilfred Mukuna and Sabelo Sibindi. Henriquez said although he was happy with the fact that Zimbabwean referees were the best in their zone in terms of the results of the monthly tests he was not happy that the quartet of Ruvinga, Dube, Mutenha and Majoni had failed an examination they knew about three months ago. “Referees from around the continent have now been asked to do monthly tests . . . three of them and they send the reports to us and I must say as a nation, Zimbabwe came out tops in our region which is the Eastern and Southern Africa. “I think it’s got to with discipline and more practice and strict monitoring they are getting from their administration and I must say Tendai Bwanya (Zifa Referees Committee secretary-general) and his team are doing a good job. “This course is just starting so I cannot say much until the end of the week when we would have also gone through the technical aspects but it would be good if they can also come out tops on the pitch as they have been doing with the monthly tests. “However, for this course, I would have been impressed if the fitness results were excellent because I want to see everybody pass,” said Henriquez. Zifa vice-president Ndumiso Gumede, who is also the acting ZRC chairman, challenged them to maintain top levels of professionalism in the way they handle the games. “Referees have one second to make a decision yet those who review it have about four to five times to look at the incident before they decide whether a mistake has been made or not. So my challenge to the referees is that when you make a decision on the pitch make it with a clear conscience. It is critical that our referees must rise above criticism and one mistake out of eight league games each week must not spoil the good work that you are doing generally. “Just this weekend we had our referees (Norman Matemera, Abraham Manda and Edgar Rumeck) being invited to handle South Africa’s match against Burkina Faso. “It also takes courage to be a referee and there have been incidents when referees have left the stadium under police escort not because they have made mistakes but because they have made brave decisions that did not go down well with some supporters,’’ Gumede said.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 06:03:25 +0000
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