The days are numbered for the incompetent local referees who were officiating in the Vodacom Promotional League or the SAB League during the past soccer season. This was revealed by the Limpopo Referees Coordinator, Mr Ephraim Singo.
Singo was responding to the calls by some of the clubs officials to replace incompetent match officials. He revealed that there are young energetic referees who are due for promotion from the lower division to either the Vodacom Promotional or SAB League.
Mr Singo stated that the majority of the 32 referees who were officiating in the Vodacom Promotional League were over-aged and incompetent. He stated that they would soon conduct some competency and fitness tests for all referees in order to determine their ability to absorb the ever-increasing competition heat.
He further said that they had identified 15 good young referees during the recent Metropolitan U/19 national tournament that was staged at the Seshego Stadium in Polokwane. "Those are the referees who are hungry for promotion and whose future looks bright," he said.
Singo again stated that the current number of match officials who were officiating in the SAB League would also be reduced. According to him, there were 28 match officials responsible for the SAB League. He thanked the referees who would be removed from the panel due to age or incompetence for the contribution they had made in football.
"They have done their part and it is now time for them to give way to new blood," he said. He revealed that they would also promote more referees to officiate in the Premier Soccer League. There are only two local referees, Collins Netshiongolwe and Philip Tinyani, who are officiating in the Premier League at the moment.