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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
ZAMBIAN football female referee Gladys Lengwe will fly the Cosafa flag high at the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup jamboree in Canada after being named among the 29 centre officials for the tournament that kicks off on June 6.She is the only one from the Southern African region set to take to the centre stage while Pelagie Rakotozafinoro from Madagascar will be an assistant referee.

According to a Fifa press release on Monday, 22 referees, seven support   referees as well as 44 assistants from across the world have been selected for the Women World Cup finals and the Kitwe- based Lengwe was the only one from a Cosafa member to make it into the elite centre referees’ list.

She is the only female centre referee   in the Football Association of Zambia league. Like other Cosafa member states Zimbabwe will not have any referee after the trio of Rusina Majo, Thanks Nyahuye and Tambudzai Tawengwa, who are all centre officials were overlooked as well as assistants Faith Mloyi, Stella Ruvinga and Sekai Simango.

Zimbabwean female referees will always find it hard to be considered for such elite football tournaments because of their inactivity on the domestic scene while the few that have been appointed have been the fourth official.

Only Bulawayo’s Tawengwa has handled a men’s football match.

“Fifa has implemented a comprehensive programme to ensure that the referees for this very important competition will be in peak condition come June 6. Between now and June 6, the selected group of match officials will participate in two seminars, one in Zurich from April 18 to 24 and the    other in Vancouver 10 days before the kick-off of the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2015,” said Fifa.

The world football body said just as it did for the 24 participating teams, the road to the Women’s World Cup 2015 began  for an initial group of referees and  assistant referees from all over the world in September 2012, when it took the important decision to create a women’s refereeing project.

“One of the key objectives was match control and consequently to prepare this group of prospective referees for the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2015. The referees selected for the tournament in Canada have been chosen based especially on their personality and their quality in terms of football understanding by being able to read the game and the teams’  tactical approaches towards each match,”  said Fifa.