15 Oct 2017

FIFA official, Joshua Bondo has called upon all constituency tournament referees to execute their duty diligently and fairly.

Bondo made the call at the closing ceremony of a one-week referee training course organised by the Tonota Sub-district youth office for constituency tournament referees under their jurisdiction.

“It is important that during games referees carry their duties fairly and diligently without favouritism to one particular opponent.

This will help avoid differences and conflicts that may arise once the other opponent feels cheated,” he said.

Bondo also explained that it was the responsibility for a referee in question to administer the match by taking decisions that were obvious and precise.

“By so doing, this will be an indication that the referee understands his/her objectives and that he/she respects the task he/she has been given,” he said.

He said refereeing was not an easy job, but that when carried accordingly it became an easy task.

Bondo implored constituency tournament referees not to undermine themselves but to rather aim for the best results which would help them reach a higher level of their chosen field.

He explained that in order for them to reach a high level of refereeing they needed to be committed to their task and be physically and mentally fit.

“Fitness is one major aspect that is highly considered in order for a referee to perform his/her duties accordingly. Professionally before referees can execute their duties to a particular game it is compulsory that they undergo medical tests and are certified whether they continue or not,” he explained urging participants to be aware of what they eat to keep their body healthy and physically fit.

Bondo also highlighted that Botswana was a developing country in terms of sports hence the president had vowed to improve sports, urging participants to do the same.

He said they should set high standards of becoming international referees.

For his part, Great North Tigers coach, Edward Leposo said qualities of a coach and that of a referees did not differ.

He explained that expectations of the coach should comply with those of the referee.

Giving a highlight on what a referee needs to do in order to be diligent, Leposo explained that it was a pre-requisite that referees possessed qualities of self-discipline, determination and dedication to their task.

In addition, he said referees should always abide by the laws of the game.

Furthermore, he insisted that it was their responsibility to promote the interest of football countrywide.

This, he said, could only be achieved when they rejected corruption, not taking sides, respecting the players and coaches as well.

Tonota constituency sports chairperson, Segomotso Gaetsholwe highlighted that since the inception of the tournaments they were sometimes overwhelmed by protests.

She explained that in their efforts to get rid of such issues they found it fit to conduct the referee training course.

She observed that most of the referees engaged in the tournament were volunteers who lacked qualities of a good referee.

She was optimistic that the training would be beneficiary to participants for the next coming season in November.

Gaetsholwe explained that constituency tournament continues to be a success in terms of unearthing talent as well as helping them stay away from unbecoming behaviours which could negatively impact on their lives. Ends