By SANDRA MWILA –

. SIKAZWE

JANNY Sikazwe says he has been motivated to work even harder after he was shortlisted for the CAF 2015 Referee-of-the-Year award.
Sikazwe has been nominated for the honour alongside 2014 award winning referee Bakary Papa Gassama of Gambia, Alinoum Neant of Cameroun, Eric Arnaud Otogo-Castane of Gabon and Ghead Zaglol Grisha of Egypt.
The Kapiri Mposhi based referee expressed happiness that Zambian referees were now being recognised for such prestigious awards and was confident of landing the continental top prize.
Sikazwe said in an interview that being nominated is a great achievement and thanked God for having made the shortlist of the best referees in Africa.
“This is a great achievement and I thank God for having made the shortlist. I am confident that it is our time as Zambians to get the Referee-of-the-Year award.
I feel so happy and I think it is high time Zambian referees were recognised,” Sikazwe said.
Sikazwe, who has officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations and various continental championships as well as CAF Inter Club Championships, said the nomination has motivated him to aim for greater things in his career.
He said Zambian referees are good and expects more names on the nomination list in the future.
“This nomination has motivated me to aim for greater things in my career especially officiating at big tournaments. I believe other Zambian referees are professional and can also vie for these awards, it’s not only me. I think if CAF had many slots we could see other Zambian referees shortlisted,” he said.
He encouraged fellow Zambian referees to continue being professional and working hard for them to excel in their careers.