The Masibekela-born and -raised netball umpire, Musa Khoza, has broken barriers in the sport, becoming the first male umpire from the Ehlanzeni District to receive a national A level grading.
Khoza (32) is a former learner of MC Zitha Combined School in Masibekela, and while he was an avid sportsman in various codes from a young age, netball wasn’t on his radar at the time. “I participated in almost all sporting activities. Unfortunately, men’s netball was not popular at the time,” he said.
But this would all change one fateful day. “My twin sister used to play netball and one day they were training and the numbers were short, so I was asked to help fill in the team. I started enjoying it so I soon joined them for training every day.”
Not long after he started umpiring, too, taking the whistle for the first time in 2008 in a friendly match between two local teams that did not have an umpire. “Me being ambitious, I said I’ll do it, but will only blow what I know. I wanted to explore all options I had, and for my love of sports to help prove that sport is not gender-based.”
After matriculating, Khoza went off to study towards a BSc in biochemistry and microbiology at the University of Zululand. It was there that his career as an umpire really kicked into gear. “It all started as a hobby when my UniZulu coach encouraged me to explore more umpiring,” he said.
“I was given the opportunity to learn the rules of the game and was encouraged to umpire school leagues to gain confidence.”
He quickly began to make his mark and start progressing up the ranks. “My first national tournament was the 2014 University Sports of South Africa week at the then Nelson Mandela Metro University.”
It’s been a long road for the Nkomazi native, but he has umpired at many top tournaments since then. This prestigious list includes both men’s and women’s senior South African championships, more USSA weeks, the U19 Telkom Netball Championship, the 2024 Confederation of Universities and Colleges Sports Association Region V Games, as well as two seasons of the Telkom Netball League in 2022 and 2024.
It was at the 2024 SA Males National Championship that he became the first male umpire from Ehlanzeni and Mpumalanga to achieve his national A grading, and it means a lot to Khoza.
“It means that if you keep working hard towards your goal in life, one day your hard work will pay off. It also means I have new chances to uplift more upcoming young umpires. It further means anyone can achieve anything as long they put their minds to it, accompanied by discipline.”
When not breaking new ground on the netball court, Khoza offers tutoring classes to high school learners and also provides sound services at private events.
Lowvelder
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