The future looks bright for a promising young football referee, Avhasei Edgar Simba (27), of Phalama village in the Mutale area.

Simba was one of the match officials who were officiating during the national university tournment, which was staged at the University of Limpopo last week.

When he was officiating throughout the week, little did Simba know that he would be nominated as the best referee of the tournament. He was presented with a trophy, a gold medal, a soccer ball, a certificate and a bottle of wine.

After playing football for many years, Simba started a career as referee two years ago. At that stage, he was officiating at the Mutale Local Football Association. Some of the teams he played for during his heyday include Pile Shining Stars, Phalama Young Vultures, Mulodi Freedom Birds, Tshandama Try Together and Berea FC.

He was promoted to referee in the SAB League last season, where he stayed for one season before gaining promotion to officiate in the Vodacom Promotional League this season.

When asked as to whether he had ever been approached by a club official offering him a bribe during his refereeing career, Simba responded with a big no. “Maybe they are afraid to approach me, because they know I am a man of strong principles,” he said. Apart from his promising career as a soccer referee, Simba works as security guard for a local security company.

He singled out Mr Eric Munyai and Pollen Sibara as the two men who inspired him a great deal in his refereeing career.