Kwimbira to officiate at Rio Olympic Games

Fifa assistant referee Bernadette Kwimbira has been appointed to officiate at 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil from August 5-21.

She is among a set of three referees from Africa selected for the tournament.

Kwimbira’s appointment comes after she also officiated at the 2015 Women World Cup in Canada.

She also officiated at Youth Olympics in China n 2014.

However, she becomes the first referee to officiate at the Olympics since 1984 when Bester Kalombo represented the country in Los Angeles, USA.

Kwimbira said she was delighted at the prospect of officiating at the event.

She said: “I thank God for seeing me through this refereeing career, I am happy to be among the three ladies from Africa to be part of Rio Olympics. Of course the Fifa World Cup is huge but it is an honour to be at the Olympics.

“This means that I would have officiated at all major Women Football tournaments in the world. To upcoming referees I encourage them to continue working hard and should be their best.”

In a related development, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) on Monday presented equipment to 15 Fifa referees at Chiwembe’s Mpira House.

FAM executive committee member Daud Ntanthiko who presented the equipment urged the referees to emulate Kwimbira’s example.

“You are the face of Malawi and you need to work hard and perform beyond expectations so that you get more recognition like Kwimbira,” he said.