FIFA and CAF accredited referee Dickens Mimisa says the levels of officiating in the country has improved, priming this on the increase in numbers of match officials approved by the continental and world governing bodies.
Mimisa says Kenyan match officials have raised their hands more to be selected for bigger matches in the continent and abroad, and believes it is only a matter of time before the country is regarded as one of the best in producing referees.
Mimisa will be the fourth official in the final of the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN), marking another remarkable journey in his career. He believes that Kenya hosting the competition has hugely impacted football, stirring up desires not just for players but those who wish to head into the arbitration side of the game.
He speaks exclusively to Telecomasia.net on his journey so far, the evolution of refereeing and what CHAN means to Kenya. He opens up on what it is like to be a referee, the challenges and the future.
- From a refereeing and a Kenyan football fan’s perspective, how does it feel for the country to host a Continental football championship for the first time ever?
- It is really amazing that Kenya has hosted this successfully. Everyone is happy with how the fans have turned out in the stadium and the general conditions of the competition. Speaking to most of my referee colleagues, they are really pleased with the facilities, the warmth of the people and the general perspective of the competition. The general feedback we have is very good.
This competition has shown us that as the East African region, we have been quite behind compared to the rest of the continent but we have the ability to match up. We have been provided with a platform to show that we have the capacity and I think now, the rest of the continent is alive to the fact that we are a footballing region.
- As a referee, how has it been for you, officiating in a major tournament in your own country?
- It has been really great and a huge honour. Being able to officiate such a big competition in your own stadia, infront of your own people is a really humbling experience. It is why we love this job. I mean we are used to doing that for local league matches, but there is just something special in doing so at a tournament such as this.
You also get to show the upcoming referees a good image and this is an opportunity for them to gain confidence and keep working to one day reach these levels.
- How will you define the referring program in Kenya and its future? What would you tell a young boy or girl who one day wants to be a referee like you?
- I was first introduced into refereeing by the experienced Peter Waweru, at the time he was my lecturer in the university, and I was a player. He told me he thought I could make a good referee and I laughed it off. Because the perspective I had of referring was really wrong. But when I came in, growing through the career, I think it's a worthwhile career. You can be able to tour other the entire world while doing what we love.
I think the first thing we have to do is change the perspective because I believe there are more people who have a similar story to mine, and how they view referees.
Honestly all round, I think it is a very rewarding career and we need to encourage more people to join in.
- What can we do to have more referees especially at the global stage like the World Cup and the AFCON?
- For a start, the current FKF office is doing a good job in terms of empowering referees. We have seen more scouring and identification programs and if they can be able to keep this running, we will have more coming off from the grassroots. We can tap and nurture them when they are still young follow them through and assist them to grow in the right path. Previously, we never had any growth pathways for referees.
Referees would just be identified randomly but now we have a structured way in which we are doing it. If this is sustained, we will have more top level referees across the country.
- Refereeing is slowly embracing technology and this year we have seen VAR fully embraced at the CHAN. How has the experience been for referees?
- VAR has brought a new edge into the game. It has allowed referees to have a second chance to look at critical decisions. VAR protocol in itself allows for referee to review only several items, not everything, so matters that directly affect the outcome of the game.
For Africa especially where this is not used in most of our leagues, I think it has been a great experience for us to learn and embrace technology.
We are delighted because we don’t get to learn only in matches but also you see now our trainings also incorporate VAR.
The only thing is sometimes it becomes difficult when you come off a tournament like this where you are used to the incorporation of VAR and then head back home and there is no VAR.
- VAR is a very expensive venture. But, do you think the Kenyan and East African leagues are ready for VAR to be fully implemented?
- IFAB (International Football Association Board) is trying to bring VAR to the lowest possible level. There is now the introduction of the Video Assistant Role on pitches, something that is less expensive than VAR. This is something that Federations will be encouraged to embrace especially those that are not very commercially stable. This is just a simple way where a referee can go back to a screen and re-visit a decision without necessarily having the heavy VAR equipment.
- Do you think an improvement in broadcasting all league matches will help in introduction of VAR?
- Yes absolutely. I think broadcasting all games can help in the introduction of VAR. Personally, I absolutely love officiating in matches that are broadcast live because then at the end of the evening, I can go back home and rewatch and maybe assess my decisions and learn from them.
When a match is broadcast and the referee makes a wrong decision, it is easier to accept and try to improve. Broadcasting matches is also a very good way of keeping referees accountable. This not only does good to the funs, but us as referees as well.
- You have mentioned that you love watching back your matches. How much does this help you improve?
- It honestly does by a great mile. You are able to appreciate what you did well and also able to critically evaluate yourself and pick out some of the wrong calls you make. I believe a lot of referees watch their matches. For me, I can’t sleep without watching mine because everyday is a learning process. When I get home, I am not thinking about food, I am not thinking about rest, but just rewatching my match and see how I did.
I want to feel what the rest of the world felt with the decisions that I took on the pitch.
- When you watch back and see you made a wrong decision, sometime costly, how do you handle that?
- No referee wants to make a wrong decision on the field, so when you realize you did, it really hurts. When you feel like a decision you took probably affected a team in a big result, it takes a toll on you. It honestly takes a few days to adjust and get back psychologically, mentally okay, then tell yourself that there is another match and another chance to do better.
You just identify what you did wrong, learn from it and aim to do better.
On the contrary, when you make a right decision it is always a good feeling especially the big decisions. You find everyone calling you congratulating you and you feel really happy.
But one thing for referees we are always told that you are only as good as your last match. You could have a good game today, but that does not guarantee a good game tomorrow. If you let your mind ride too much on a perfect game, you can easily have a disaster in your next. So we always try to forget the good matches quickly.
