Staff Reporter.
Thulani Ngwenya, the South African Football Association’s Chief Medical Officer, has been appointed as the official Doping Officer for this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Ngwenya is a member of the South African Sports Medicine Association (Sasma) and a member of the CAF and FIFA Medical Association.
He has become one of the most respected experts within the sports medicine field and SAFA CEO Tebogo Motlanthe said he was immensely proud as he continues to make his mark around the globe.
“We are proud of the growth of Dr Ngwenya in this field and as the Association we are very proud of his contribution during Covid, and during Confederation of African Football games.
“We do not doubt that he will represent the country with distinction in Qatar,” said Motlanthe, who is in Miami, Florida, USA, where he is attending the second edition of the FIFA Law diploma.
It is a five-class module which focuses on Dispute Resolution, Registration and Status of Players, CAS operations and updates on the FIFA Legal framework.
Thomas Thema from North-West University and Mahomed Sidat from the Confederation of African Football Licensing are some of the SAFA CEO’s classmates.
The journey began in Zürich, Switzerland, and after the current classes in Miami, the next classes will be in Paraguay in September. After Paraguay, Egypt will be the next destination in February next year.
The students will return to Zürich for the final classes, with the graduation ceremony in the Swiss economic capital next year.
Meanwhile Victor Gomes and Zakhele Siwela were also appointed to officiate at the Fifa World Cup in Qatar later this year.
The achievement of the two officials, who also officiated in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon in the beginning of the year, further cements the success of the partnership between Safa and Showmax. Gomes blew the whistle in the Afcon final between Senegal and Egypt while Siwela served as one of his assistants.