One of Zimbabwe’s top referees Ruzive Ruzive has been appointed by world soccer governing body Fifa to take charge of a 2014 World Cup qualifier pitting hosts Tanzania and Gambia in Dar es Salaam next week.
Ruzive and assistants Ncube Salani, Rumeck Edgar and fourth official Norman Matemera will call the shots in Dar es Salaam.
The assignment is the latest vote of confidence in local officials who were side-lined by the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) for some domestic fixtures last season over match-fixing claims.
Zifa last year drew the ire of the referees body after side-lining local referees for the Mbada Diamonds Cup amid claims of corruption. Zambian and South African referees were brought in for the semi-finals and finals of the country’s richest knock-out tournament.
Zifa bosses insisted they took the action to protect sponsors from any adverse publicity, saying their actions were not driven by lack of confidence in their own officials.
The Harare-based Ruzive got another high profile assignment from the Confederation of African Football which saw him refereeing the international friendly match between Senegal and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in Durban, South Africa, earlier this year. He was assisted by Bongani Gadzikwa and Abraham Manda.
