Thousands of mourners from different parts of Vhembe attended the funeral of a local soccer referee, Mr Sipho Motsoko (36), who died on 31 January at the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital after a short illness. He was buried on 10 February at Bale village.
Representing Safa Vhembe, Mr Ephraim Singo said the football family had lost one of its pillars, who had always been working hard towards the development of soccer. "The whole region was shocked when we heard of his untimely death," Singo said.
"Being a developer of other up-and-coming referees is very difficult, but Motsoko was doing this, often using his own resources, because he had a passion to develop his own young, rural boys," he said.
The man who served as a mentor for Motsoko, Mr Colbert Nempumbuluni, said that the region had lost an icon "who has made an enormous contribution in terms of developing and nurturing the talent of black people".
A family member and sister, Ms Jeaneth Motsoko, said the family members were in great pain after losing one of their beloved members. She said that Sipho had played a big role in uplifting the standard of soccer in the local community of Vhembe.