International referees : Botswana�s unsung heroes
Thato Kala | Monday October 13, 2014 14:46
The high-riding Joshua Bondo has enjoyed more international assignments than any other local soccer ref. His stock continues to rise internationally with the possibility of being at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Already, he has handled several high profile 2015 qualifiers that include the South Africa versus Nigeria game on September 10.
Botswana Referees Association chairperson, Alousous Sesikwe says the assignments are a sign that local referees are on the right track.
“It shows we are being recognised and our performance meets international standards. If they can do better we may end up considered for CAF competitions like AFCON,” Sesikwe tells Monitor Sport.
He is convinced the development will push other referees to aspire to reach such levels.
Unlike other sport codes where only one ref has gone international, in football Johanness Lekgotla has also had his fair share of assignments outside the country.
The quartet of Omphile Phutego, Oamogetse Godisamang, Moemedi Monakwane and Kutlwano Leso handled a CAF Under 17 match pitting the Democratic Republic of Congo against Tanzania earlier this year.
Bondo, Johannes, Leso and Phutego are all listed on the FIFA panel. Bondo has been on the panel since 2007.
Softball’s Abel Mataboge is also another history maker in as far as officiating is concerned. He is the only International Softball Federation (ISF) accredited umpire in the country, the first African outside South Africa to reach such levels.
One of the highlights of the award winning umpire’s career was officiating in the IX ISF Men’s World Championship in Paran, Argentina two years ago.
Argentina were crowned world champion for the first time in history, after beating Japan 5-0 in the final and Mataboge was assigned at second base during that final. This came after a run in 15 matches throughout the same tournament.
According to post-match reviews on umpires’ performances, Mataboge was exceptional except at right field.
Mataboge reached the pinnacle of softball officiating when he got the certification in Florida, United States of America. Five South Africans hold the qualification.
His rise started off with his involvement in the Southern region league committee in 2005 where he was the deputy chief umpire. The following year, Mataboge attended a Level One African Certification course in Zimbabwe, ending his playing career to focus on umpiring.
His other international assignments include this year’s World Softball Championships, 16th World Cup in Florida, United States of America (US) and the ISF JWWC in Cape Town, South Africa.
His dream is to groom a local umpire who will reach his standard, but he says it will take commitment from the protégé.
“It’s not about what I want but when someone shows commitment towards that it’s easier to help them. I’m willing to do that, even the international softball federation encourages that.”
He adds: “When you go out to represent the country you must be able to give back to the country to develop other guys.”
The latest Motswana to make waves internationally as a ref is basketball’s Dorothy ‘Dot’ Okatch.
She was recently called “the future of basketball officiating in Africa” after some excellent officiating at the Africa Under 18 Women’s Championship in Egypt last month.
She got her licence a few months ago and has already been tipped to shine as an international ref.
She admits being a pioneer is difficult and says to have more people follow in her footsteps will require dedicated, committed and determined refs.
“It takes refs who are willing to go back to the rule book and understand what it says and how to interpret and apply what it says.
We need our refs to look at this as more than just a hobby,” Okatch says.
She is quick to say local refereeing standards are lower than international, and is willing to share her experiences with aspiring refs.
“Professionalism is much higher internationally. They take what they are doing seriously.
So much care is put into what they wear, how they look, how they show the signs and signals.
The rules of the game are followed as is, times are exact for certain procedures. Locally we seem to just be a bit too laid back and relaxed. We don’t really put much attention and detail to how we look.”
Other codes like rugby, boxing, netball and table tennis have their officials continue to make inroads into international officiating.
The rugby duo of Emmanuel Masinki and Jerome Abu officiated at the Africa Youth Games in May this year. Masinki had earlier taken charge in CAR 15’s matches in 2011.
With trickles of exposure in different codes, several referees and umpires across codes are expected to hold their own in global sport competitions.