After an impressive 19 years as Premier Soccer League referee, Volkswagen Group South Africa’s (VWSA), Buyile Gqubule has called it a day.
Gqubule, who manages the VWSA PeoplePavilion, will now concentrate on developing up and coming referees in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Taking into account age and recurring injuries, I feel now is the right time to call it quits. I have no regrets; I have enjoyed 19 fruitful years on the pitch. I would mostly like to thank SAFA and my refereeing colleagues for the support in making my refereeing journey a success,” said Gqubule.
“The greatest highlights of my career included being awarded the 2010 Referee of the Year, officiating in Africa’s biggest derby, the Soweto Derby involving Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. I also did duty in some world class international friendly matches and I would say my best game was the MTN 8 semi-final between Chiefs and Ajax Cape Town.”
Gqubule will now dedicate his time to the development of referees at the lower leagues. He said there were numerous referees who had the potential to “make it big in the professional ranks”.
“I am involved in a referee development programme in the Local Football Association (LFA) and through the support of Sedgars we are able to provide these upcoming referees with training equipment. I will always remain a referee at heart and will officiate in the LFA games from time to time.
“We have over 50 Level 4 referees at the LFA level who with support and proper guidance have the potential to be amongst the best referees in South Africa. We hope to see them move on in their careers to become FIFA and CAF accredited referees,” said the Eastern Cape-based official.
Acting head of SAFA Referees Department, Lindile ‘Ace’ Kika said it was a big loss to the national panel to lose a referee of Buyile’s calibre.
“It is sad to have to part ways with one of our most proficient referees in South African football. He contributed immensely and I would like to wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
“Buyile is a man who avoided controversy at all costs despite the nature of his job and even with him sitting on the side lines, he never criticised but offered support to his refereeing colleagues,” said Kika.
Qgubule states that running VWSA’s PeoplePavilion will also keep him close to the beautiful game. The PeoplePavilion features sports as diverse as Taebo, netball, indoor cricket and Klawerjas. And Qgubule’s passion for Soccer remains well represented in both indoor and outdoor soccer as well as Soccer coaching for VWSA employees’ kids. What better way to connect with Soccer than have one of South Africa’s most experienced referees coaching you!
Alan Straton
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