FROM POT BELLY LITE ATHLETES

That header pretty much sums up the physical transition up the physical transition that referees around Africa, and indeed South Africa, have undergone in the past 20 years. I remember that when I first started refereeing in the South African PSL, there were numerous 'pot-bellied' match officials in the league. However, when I retired in 2013, there were none!

- Jerome Damon

Fast forward to 2022, and we see how match officials have transitioned from being the referee who picked up his bag on match day to match officials who have been scientifically conditioned for competition.

Every match official on the CAF Elite Panel of Match Officials and in South Africa has their own fitness coach who oversees their conditioning. I recall that in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup, my fitness coach monitored me and my team remotely from Japan! Yes, Toshio Utsumi had regular contact with me after I uploaded the data from my tracking watch (I can't give free advertising now, can I?). He would meet with my team and me via Skype and discuss what he had interpreted. It was rather hectic! He would then design my training plans that I had to follow carefully and record every activity in my logbook, including the days that I travelled on or rested. Yes, rest is part of fitness!