Meshack Motloung

Meshack Motloung

The South African Football Association National Referees Committee chairman Kirsten Nematandani believes that investing in youth is good for the game.

Nematandani was speaking to Sowetan on the first day of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) referees' course that started in Tshwane yesterday.

The course, which is hosted by Safa, is under way at the High Performance Centre in Hatfield and will end on Saturday.

"The course is to identify young talent and to groom them for the future,' said Nematandani.

"These youngsters will be brought on board when the older referees retire."

Nematandani said that it was an investment in the future and that it was something good for football.

"The event is part of CAF's plan and we hope to do likewise in future."

The countries involved are Somalia, Eritrea, Namibia, Malawi, Libya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Swaziland, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana, Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa.