Safa Vhembe concerned about standard of refereeing

The standard of refereeing in the region was one of the hot topics on the agenda during the Safa Vhembe Regional League’s executive committee meeting, held at the University of Venda Hall last Saturday. The meeting resolved that an urgent need exists for the association to arrange coaching and refereeing courses, so that referees and coaches affiliated with the association could attain the necessary minimum requirements.

The meeting also noted with concern that the standard of women’s football in the region is below par. Agreement was reached that the owners of men’s football clubs should be encouraged to form ladies' football teams. During the meeting, the four local football associations falling under the jurisdiction of the Safa Vhembe were confirmed to be in good standing with their mother body.

The Thulamela Local Football Association (Thulfa) was also reported to still be under administration. Thulfa is expected to hold its elective congress before the end of this year. Thulfa was placed under administration after the association’s elective congress, held at the Thohoyandou Library about two years ago. This congress was followed by disputes, which resulted in the suspension of most of the association’s executive committee members.

During Saturday’s meeting, a resolution that Safa Vhembe will continue to support the two professional clubs, Black Leopards and Venda Football Club, because their presence in the region is a source of inspiration to the local amateur players, was taken.

The association expressed its disappointment with the fact that the region had failed to promote a team to the ABC Motsepe League at the end of last season. The association was reported to still be battling to acquire sponsorship after parting ways with the MMK Administrators Insurance Company about three years ago.

Sport - Date: 16 March 2024

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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