Mayor meets Themba PSL award winner

FOOTBALL NEWS - George Mayor Leon van Wyk met with the reigning National Premier Soccer League (PSL) referee award winner, Masixole Bambiso, on Wednesday 21 June to congratulate him and encourage him in his future endeavours.

Bambiso, who hails from Thembalethu, was named Premier Soccer League (PSL) Referee of the Season at the PSL Awards in Johannesburg on 28 May.

He was nominated for this award together with two top officials, Abongile Tom from Cape Town and Sikhumbuzo Gaza from the Eastern Cape, and is the first person from George and Eden Region to claim the National PSL Award.

Bambiso started refereeing in 2012, officiating in the George Local Football Association (Geolfa) League. His career includes officiating in the ABC Motsepe Provincial League, the Motsepe Foundation League (better known as Glad Africa Championship or National First Division NFD), the DDC Dstv Diski Challenge (a PSL Reserve League) and National Premier Soccer League.

Van Wyk chatted to Bambiso and asked a few questions regarding his professional refereeing career and his award.

According to Bambiso, he was promoted to the National League panel when he was 19 years old. He said he was recently promoted to be a Fifa match official and has been invited to officiate at the Cosafa tournament on 5 July in Durban, where only Sadec countries will be playing.

The National Premier Soccer League award winner, Masixole Bambiso from Thembalethu Zone 7.

Life as professional referee

Bambiso shared what life as a match official is like. It requires a lot of physical training to maintain one's level of fitness and mental training to stay up to date with the rules of the game, which you have to know by heart.

A professional referee is always away from home, as there are fixtures scheduled for each and every week.

Safa is working toward using Video Assistant Referee (VAR), but it is going to take some years because of other challenges in football development. For him, these challenges are what makes football in South Africa exciting.

On a more personal level, officiating internationally presents a new challenge for him as he has difficulty adjusting to flying. He became aware of this when he had to fly to Malawi in 2019.

In football there are five officials who control the game: the centre referee, two linesmen, a fourth official and match assessor/coach. Bambiso said positioning and reading of the game is very important when you are a match official.

The players will always challenge your decisions and you have to be able to stand your ground. Talking about soccer on a local level, he said George has promising talent, but it is difficult to have a team in a provincial or national league.

The local teams don't have the finances it takes, as most of the provincial and national teams are based in Cape Town and travelling and accommodation are a problem every season.

George Mayor Leon van Wyk sharing some words with the PSL award winner, Masixole Bambiso from Thembalethu. Photos: Zama Gagu