Victor is an internationally acclaimed referee
Victor Hlungwane is a well-known international referee from Giyani who against all odds managed to make a name for himself.
“It started in 1991 when I was 15-years-old. My club KYD FC was requested to submit a name of a referee and no one was ready to volunteer.
“I then put my hand up and they all laughed because during those days referees used to be beaten and I was very young.”
He says that since there was no else who volunteered for the job, they were left with no choice but to look at him.
“At that time I attended school at Giyani High School so my English and understanding of the rules were thought to be good,” said Victor.
He then progressed through the SAFA Giyani Football Association structures until he got promoted to the NFD (MTN league) in 1999/2000.
In 2002 the NFD and Premier League panels were combined to form one national panel and he was a beneficiary of that process.
“In 2010 I was nominated into the FIFA panel to represent my country at international level and in 2012 I was nominated referee of the year and also went on to referee the Gabon vs Brazil match in the Gabon capital, Brazzaville.
“I did eight Pirates vs Chiefs matches as a referee and four as a fourth official,” he added.
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“In 1995 when I was doing my first year at Tivumbeni College of Education, I realised that the youth in my village Homu 14B were fighting because there was nothing to do during December holidays.
“I then approach Induna Ndlovu who offered a goat for the tournament and we played the tournament with four teams.
“The following year the tournament increased to eight teams participating and in 2000 I named the tournament the Zama Zama Sports Challenge. Up to today it is known as the Zama Zama and has become a brand on its own.”
Since 2008 he also does motivational speeches at schools with David Mathebula, Tonic Chabalala and Tebogo Monyai.
“The journey has been very good, especially after being nominated referee of the year four times and winning it once.
“The only bad thing about refereeing is when you get a decision wrong and people judge you watching slow motion and talk as though they could have got it right with the first glance. Sometimes we do not sleep after making a wrong decision, but we only human and we make mistakes, just like as everyone else.
“You have three seconds to make a decision, but VAR do assist to eliminate those mistakes.”
