COSAFA Referees Manager Felix Tangawarima has hailed the performance of his protégé Victor Gomes in the Africa Cup of Nations final as a huge success and a victory for the whole of the Southern African region.

Gomes took charge of the deciding match between winners Senegal and Egypt, and did not put a foot wrong in an exemplary display of officiating along with his assistants, Zakhele Siwela from South Africa and Lesotho’s Souru Phatsoane.

Gomes was groomed through the COSAFA age-group tournaments and began refereeing on the international stage under the guidance of Tangawarima.

“It was a big, big honour for the COSAFA zone and Victor did not disappoint,” Tangawarima told The COSAFA Show. “We are very happy with his performance.

“Officiating in a Afcon final, with the whole world watching … he represented himself and South Africa very well.

“Gomes is a very intelligent referee and he listens. He did everything that he was advised to do on this big stage and he is very mature. He is a very good man-manager. He manages the players very well and has a sense of responsibility. That has helped him a lot.

“The three match officials who were officiating, they are all products of our Under-17 competition. They have been through our age-group tournaments and now onto the world.”

Also on this episode of The COSAFA Show, we hear from Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi ahead of their CAF Champions League pool stage opener against Al-Hilal on Friday, and Teko Modise tells us about the documentary on his career, DONA.

Finally, we also get the views from club bosses in the Zambian Super League as they look to de-link from the country’s football association.