Match officials knocked down by lockdown

Not only is the 21-day national lockdown affecting the business sector, but the football match officials are hit hard as well. In fact, the stranded local match officials have unanimously agreed that the lockdown has caused a double blow to them.

Mr Olani Kwinda, the PSL referee, said that as a professional referee he was expected to train hard every day in order to keep fit. According to him, that was not possible these days because of the lockdown. He said that although he was trying to do some light training within the yard, this was not enough for a professional referee.

Apart from the fact that he might not be physically fit to officiate a professional game when the league activities resume after the lifting of the lockdown, Kwinda said he was battling to come to terms with the financial constraints the lockdown has caused to his family. He said it was difficult for him to make ends meet without income since they were paid according to the number of matches they officiated in a particular month, over and above the fixed stipend.

Another local PSL referee, Mr Jelly Chabani, said life was fast becoming difficult for him without an income. He reiterated the fact that he was a breadwinner and that it would be difficult for him to put bread on the table if the lockdown was not lifted on the 16^th as anticipated. As for the physical fitness part, Chabani said he was doing everything possible to ensure that he did not gain much weight during the lockdown period.

Ms Lufuno “Papie” Nemagovhani, the only local female match commissioner, said while she fully supported the lockdown, her family life had been affected negatively. She stressed the fact that she, too, was a breadwinner. The other local match officials who echoed Kwinda and Chabani’s sentiments include Messrs Khamusi Razwimisani and Rabelani Nemushungwa.

Sport - Date: 11 April 2020

Frank Mavhungu

Frank is a Human Resources Manager at the Department of Public Works in Limpopo. He is the longest serving correspondent of the Mirror, having joined us at the end of 1990.  He mainly writes sports reports and resides at Tsianda Village. In 2004, Frank won the National Castle League Award, an award for the best reporter in the SAB league in South Africa.

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