Zambia Referees’ Committee Chairperson Resigns Amid Corruption Allegations

Respected former FIFA referee Gladys Lengwe has resigned her position as Chairperson of the Referees Committee of the Football Association of Zambia, citing what she described as rampant corruption within the refereeing system.

In her resignation letter to the country’s football association, she expressed concern that efforts by the committee to address questionable referee appointments had been frustrated, positing that the committee had effectively become a shell, with operational decisions continuing regardless of its directives.

With over 25 years in refereeing, Lengwe reflected that while challenges may have existed before, she had never witnessed the level of alleged corruption she now observed.
In accepting her resignation, the football association while acknowledging allegations over corruption in the refereeing department, however, stated that matters of integrity must be addressed through established internal channels and that allegations made publicly without formal processes can potentially bring the game into disrepute.