Africa-Press – Botswana. Francistown Regional Football Association (FRAFA), through Botswana Football Association (BFA), has graduated 30 referees on refereeing beginner’s course in Francistown on Friday.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony, BFA referee’s manager, Jonty Rasetsoga said He said the new referees, drawn from Francistown and surrounding areas, were taught basic skills of being a football referee.
The participants enrolled on a five-day training course which commenced on the August 21.
Rasetsoga further said among the 38 participants, three of them were females and that the age range of participants were from 18 to 25 years.
He said the purpose of the beginner’s course was to increase the number of referees for FRAFA and to also get ready for the start of regional league.
Francistown BFA technical instructor, Thobekile Manyanya, who was the course instructor for the programme, appealed to the referees to use the skills they acquired from the course for their own good.
She further encouraged participants to be disciplined in all aspects of life and help nurture the love of the sport of football in Botswana.
FRAFA secretary, Meshack Medupi urged the referees not to let distractions of the world change where they were in life today.
He also urged the new male referees to treat their female associates with utmost love and respect, and to also shy away from engaging in gender-based violence in any form.
Medupi said FRAFA acknowledged BFA for giving a hand in promoting and developing football sports in Botswana and wished to see the number of females officiating in football games increasing.
“As FRAFA, we are trying by all means to create a conducive environment for females in football,” he said.
For his part, Botswana Premier League referee, Moemedi Tlhabologang urged the new referees to appreciate the opportunity and utilise it wisely.
“Be dedicated and determined in your craft because the road to success is never easy,” said Tlhabologang.
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