He would occasionally walk into the offices of the now defunct Mirror newspaper with a dirty looking paper clutched in his hand. It looked worthless. The double sheet was plucked from a mathematics book and sports reporters would take a glance with disdain. He was viewed as an irritant not a top referee in the making."One day, I will be a top referee," Bondo would declare irritatingly as he disappeared behind the door with his piece of paper. In that piece of paper, he had a long, winding interview; he was both the interviewer and the interviewee. Bondo wanted the Mirror to run the 'interview'. That was a decade ago. That interview might not have seen the light of the day, but Bondo's skills with the whistle have exploded in front of soccer fans at home and abroad.
Today, Joshua Bondo without a shadow of doubt, stands heads and shoulders above his peers as he continues to fly the country's flag high in FIFA, CAF competitions and now the COSAFA Cup tournament in Zambia.Bondo used to attract criticism each time he trod into the Selebi-Phikwe Stadium, particularly from the big guns from the South who viewed him as sympathetic to home teams, Nico United and Satmos.However, home teams also felt he was favouring away teams which in a way gave him a sense of impartiality. He made his Premier League debut in the 2004/05 season.
