OnSport Reporter
The Zifa Referees Committee took advantage of the Fifa International break to provide match officials with a refresher course last week in preparation for the resumption of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League this weekend.
The training, a routine course, comes at a time when Zifa has suspended some match officials for bad officiating in some matches before the first half of the 2025 PSL season.
Referees Committee chairperson Faith Mloyi said they will not sit on the laurels, reminding referees to up their performances.
“Yes here and there, there are some things that might not have gone well during the games, so we are here to make sure that we remind referees to polish up with their performances,” Mloyi said.
The course was held in Bulawayo and save for officials that are on the Fifa panel and were on international duty, all the top referees in the country attended the training, which achieved a 100% pass rate.
The Zimbabwe Referees Association took advantage of the international calendar to hold a three-day refresher course where all practising referees, assistants and match commissioners converged in Bulawayo to re-jog their minds as well as fitness in their application of handling the game.
Joshua Tigere, the referees manager said match officials need to be up to scratch for the smooth flow of the games.
“Fifa expects us to hold a minimum of four courses for our referees per year. This is the second one for the year, having done the first one in Harare in February. This is also important because we need to continuously refresh our referees on the laws of the game and the interpretation thereof,” Tigere said.
“We also have amendments that are done to the laws of the game from time to time and which ordinarily come into effect on July 1 of each year or at the beginning of a particular season of a particular federation. This is a critical course because we need our referees to be up to standard, we need our referees to continue to deliver expected standards so that our league continues to enjoy good order.”
Zifa vice-president Kennedy Ndebele, who officially opened the training said: “As Zifa, we will thrive to improve the welfare of match officials, we will endeavor to make the training and development cheaper for match officials. Currently, our commercial department is in the process of engaging potential sponsors to help in capacity building and also in the welfare of referees.”
As the league resumes, log leaders, MWOS, unbeaten in the league so far, take their 15th game of the season to Gibbo Stadium where they take on struggling Triangle with the main focus of the weekend games at Barbourfields where wounded Highlanders host Simba Bhora, who are on position two on the table.
Another potentally-exciting match is slated for Rufaro on Saturday, where fellow-strugglers Caps United and Chicken Inn lock horns.
Scottland FC, smarting from a 1-0 defeat to archrivals MWOS before the break will entertain lowly Kwekwe United at Rufaro on Sunday while former champions Ngezi Platinum Stars are home to Manica Diamonds at Baobab on Saturday.
Dynamos hit the road to Gibbo, where they will take on Bikita Minerals on Saturday as FC host improved ZPC Kariba at Mandava on the same day.
Yadah entertain Herentals at the Heart while Green Fuel will also be home against TelOne at the Green Fuel Arena on the same day with both games to be played on Saturday..
Referees chin up for PSL resumption
