The South African football fraternity is mourning the death of a top women’s match commissioner, Matankiso Titi-Miya (48) from Bethlehem.
She is one of five people who were killed in a car accident on the R57 road between Heilbron and Sasolburg in the Free State on Friday (22/04).
Titi-Miya died on route to Johannesburg.
She had been assigned to officiate a DStv match between Sekhukhune United and Mamelodi Sundowns at the Makhulong Stadium on Saturday.
Titi-Miya had a lengthy stint serving as assistant referee and was the longest-serving women’s match official in the Safa rank. Her illustrious career spans more than 17 years.
She was a torchbearer for women, having been the first assistant match referee to receive a Fifa badge in the early 2000’s.
She became the first woman in the Free State to receive a Fifa badge and was followed by Maneo Tau from Botshabelo.
Titi-Miya was active as assistant referee from 2004 until 2010.
She graduated to becoming match commissioner, serving across main leagues – the Premier Soccer League (PSL), National First Division (NFD), ABC Motsepe League, Safa women’s competitions, Sasol League and the National Senior League (NSL).
She served as a referee instructor and a member of Safa’s National Referees Committee.
Her duties on-field as match commissioner entailed inspecting the field of play, the balls and players’ equipment (as well as in cases when problems have been resolved), and also keeping record of time, goals and misconduct.
The loss of down-to-earth Titi-Miya has left a significant void, especially in the advancement of women in football.
She was one of the first mentees nurtured by top Fifa and Confederation of African Football (CAF) referee instructor Enoch “The Great” Molefe from Bloemfontein.
A memorial service to honour her will be held today (27/04) in the Kgubetswana Community Hall in Clarens.
- Sgt Josephine Rani, police spokesperson, says only two of the five victims of the car accident have been identified, and the police are asking the public’s help to identify the others.
“Anyone who knows of people who travelled from Qwaqwa, Bethlehem or Reitz on Friday with a ride to Sasolburg, Vereeniging or Johannesburg, and has not heard from them since, should contact the police,” she asked.
People with information can contact the station manager of the Heilbron police station, Lt Col. Mosiuoa Mokhethi on 082-525-2303.
She was one of the first mentees nurtured by top Fifa and CAF referee instructor Enoch “The Great” Molefe from Bloemfontein
