24 Jan 2023

The world’s football governing body, FIFA, has released  names of local referees and assistant referees eligible for international assignments this year.

The referees list is led by Joshua Bondo and consists of four males and two females as well as five men and two women for assistant referees.

Having been part of FIFA’s international referees since 2010, Bondo is the most experienced.

He has in the past handled CAF club competitions and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Among the two accredited assistant female referees is Leungo Tsogang (24) of Serowe.

Tsogang has been assistant referee since 2018.

Last year’s recipient of the Young Referee of the Season Award, Tsogang said she was drawn to the business of refereeing after seeing a mixture of male and female referees on Botswana Television attending a workshop.

Tsogang said she started refereeing after completing secondary school and then enrolled for Elite referees course in 2019.

She said she officiated at Region Five Games in Lesotho, between Zambia and Botswana and was also was assigned to officiate at Malawi games. Tsogang recalled that hers had not always been an easy task since some felt that she chose the wrong path since football was male dominated.

However, she stuck to her guns because she did not choose refereeing by default, she was in it to make a difference.

Tsogang believed that she made it because of being of being disciplined, hardworking and honest. She said football came with a lot of temptations, which referees should never succumb to as that would damage their integrity.

Her physical trainer, Thuso Ramaphakela praised Tsogang’s performance during training sessions. He said she was fit and dedicated. ENDS