Picture: Former referee, Victor Gomes/Supplied
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
5 October 2025- South African Football Association (SAFA) Referees Committee chairman, Victor Gomes, has been appointed to the FIFA Referees Committee. Gomes was a highly respected referee until his retirement after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
He has transferred his skills to various refereeing structures around the world. Gomes told http://www.safa.net that he was happy to continue contributing to the game wherever he is required.
“I am happy to contribute to the game on the continent and to the betterment of African refereeing,” he said. “Thank you to FIFA, CAF and SAFA for entrusting me with this big responsibility,” he said.
Gomes also serves as a FIFA Referees development officer and assessor, VAR and Technical Instructor, CAF Referees Committee vice-chairman and IFAB Technical Advisory Panel member.
SAFA president Dr Danny Jordaan applauded Gomes as he joins a committee that is chaired by highly respected former referee Pierluigi Collina. Jordaan said he is pleased to congratulate Gomes on this new journey.
“We look forward to following him on this new chapter,” he said.
SAFA continues to be well represented on various structures of the game on the globe. Dr Jordaan has been appointed to the FIFA Men’s National Teams Competitions Committee. This Committee is regarded as the most important in FIFA as it oversees all FIFA men’s tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, FIFA U20 World Cup, FIFA U17 World Cup, Men’s Olympic Football Tournament, FIFA Futsal World Cup, and the FIFA Arab Cup.
Meanwhile, SAFA Chief Medical Officer Doctor Thulani Ngwenya is serving as a Doping Control Officer (DOC) and Sample Collection for the duration of the FIFA Under-20 Men’s World Cup that is currently underway in Chile. The well-respected SAFA official is serving as a Doping Control Officer at another major tournament, and he is based in Rancagua, Chile, and the Estadio El Teniente is the main venue for his assignment.
The Guardian 