ENTERING THE NATIONAL ARENA

BY JOSHUA HENDRICKS

REFEREE MSIMELELI MABUTO has reached the pinnacle of his career by officiating in the Premier Soccer League. Yet, but for an obscure rule in amateur football, he might never have picked up a whistle.

BORN IN COFIMVABA in the Eastern Cape, his family relocated to Mossel Bay when he was in Grade 2. After he matriculated, he could not afford tertiary studies and had to work for four years before he could enrol to study Mechanical Engineering at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). He obtained his diploma in 2009.

“My refereeing started when I was still playing soccer in Mossel Bay. We were playing in the Castle League Third Division and had to officiate [at] a game after our match. I just did it so that our club doesn’t get fi ned and there were no intentions of becoming a professional referee,” recalls Mabuto.

WHILE AT CPUT, he was very much involved in football, as a player in the Northern Suburbs Local Football Association. Here he was inspired by other players who loved officiating to take it more seriously. As part of USSA Western Cape, one of his duties was to organise referees for the games with SAFA Cape Town.

Around this time, with his playing days coming to an end as a result of injuries and weight problems, he began to think seriously of a career as a professional referee. The lack of funds for expenses as an amateur referee was daunting, especially while also dealing with unemployment.

He says: “After I got a chance to become a provincial referee, opportunities were there for me but It was not easy to get promoted to the next level. We didn’t have transport to go to the fields and we had to take public transport.”

IN 2009, just when he was thinking of giving up because he wasn’t seeing any progress within his envisaged career, he was offered a chance to join UWC as their referee. Seeing how Jerry Laka, the then sports administrator, gave the referees all the support that they needed made a huge mental impact on him. In 2011, he was invited to join the referee development programme in Johannesburg which further boosted his confidence in his abilities. A conversation with the provincial HOD of referees led to the opportunity to break into the national level.

“After I spoke with the provincial referees HOD and got an invitation to the fitness test, that’s when I knew that I could achieve what I wanted. In 2012, I got invited to workshops in Johannesburg and I started getting PSL reserves’ games. In 2013, I got promoted to the PSL,” says Mabuto.

HE CONTINUES: “I did DStv Diski Challenge games from 2014 to 2017 and from 2018, I did National First Division games, too. My first PSL game was last season. It was a Nedbank Cup last 16 match and it was a live game. I was nervous before the game but I was okay after I started the game. My most memorable game was between the Chiefs and Pirates reserves. The stadium was packed. It was also a live game and I had a brilliant game.”

MABUTO SAYS he hopes to officiate the Soweto Derby before he retires. He also wants to improve on his diploma and study further to achieve success outside football.

B+G