Mataboge gets international appointment
Koketso Kgoboge | Thursday March 16, 2017 14:49
He joins 24 umpires from 15 countries appointed for the 15th edition of the championships.
WBSC released the list of umpires on Tuesday.
South Africa’s Ashly Mmakola is the only other umpire from the African continent. Mataboge is no stranger from officiating on the world stage.
His previous international assignments include, among others, the 2011 Under 16 Woman’s World Cup in Florida, United States of America, 2011 Junior Women’s World Championships in Cape Town, South Africa.
His first WBSC call up came in 2013 in the junior men’s championship staged in Whitehorse in Canada. He officiated in a similar competition at the same venue again two years later and for the third time last year in Michigan, USA.
Mataboge said he is elated with the selection to the WBSC senior men’s championships.
He said it is an opportunity every umpire across the globe is eyeing.
“I consider myself lucky. It’s not easy for any umpire to get two World Championships in a row in a space of a year, when umpires across the globe are competing for the same spot. It’s a massive recognition,” he said.
“This is a milestone for me. It’s a senior men’s championship and it gives me an opportunity to prove myself further and hopefully I will realise my target of getting an Olympic selection.”
Botswana Softball Associations public relations officer, Kelebogile Seitei said Mataboge’s exploits in the international scene will act as an encouragement to other local umpires to grow their game.
“We are proud of him. We wish him the best and we hope he grows to become a continental umpire-in-chief,” she said.
“We have a good number of umpires who have capabilities to also be the best and we hope they will be encouraged by Abel’s (Mataboge) international recognition and will up their game so they reach similar heights. It’s a huge development for our local game and for the man himself.”
In a statement, WBSC softball division president Dale McMann said the global selection of umpires highlights the growing base of knowledgeable softball officials and leaders around the world.
“These important officials ensure the integrity of our softball world championships and also help ensure our sport is officiated uniformly in their home countries, which is a key factor in our development to grow our sport,” the statement reads.