One of the top male netball umpires in the country, Miles Moshou, was born and bred in Ikageng and his passion for the sport knows no bounds.
Moshou’s netball journey has been filled with numerous accomplishments as a Netball South Africa (NSA) level A umpire.
He has umpired in Varsity Netball since 2019, the Telkom Netball League since 2019 and the 2021 Men’s International Netball Championships. Moshou is currently strutting his stuff on the court in the 2022 Telkom Netball League and loving every minute of it.
“My favourite part of being an umpire is being in control of the game and umpiring with rules. There is no difficult part of being an umpire when you officiate with impartiality, according to the rule book, allowing fair play and good sportsmanship,” adds Moshou.
This Ikageng resident attended Boitirelo Primary School and Tlokwe Secondary School and has been an umpire for eight years after previously playing netball since the age of 13.
“Mami Diale (current Netball SA vice-president) encouraged me to play the game. She started a male team, Golden Boys, and I fell in love with the sport. I tried volleyball and basketball too, but netball won my heart; it came naturally to me,” states Moshou.
It was just a matter of time before Moshou gravitated to the officiating aspect of the sport.
“I was given a whistle at a local friendly game and fell in love with it. The late Joey Schoeman and Dr Hanette Brewer identified me at a development tournament in Potchefstroom in 2014. I went for my level 1 umpire course, sponsored by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture in 2014.”
According to Moshou, his most memorable match thus far was his debut as an international referee in the match between South Africa and Uganda.
“All my TV matches are my favourites too. My advice for aspiring umpires is never to limit yourself and be goal-driven. There is always room for improvement.”
