Ericsson Temu wrote history as the first Tanzanian football referee to officiate a match in England when he officiated a match between Charlton Athletics FC against Queens Park Rangers FC U23.

The referee also played a Confederations Cup match for players under the age of 23 when he oversaw the third-round match between Herne Bay FC against Catford Wanderers (2008).

Temu fell into disarray after missing out on football so he was forced to give up football and move to a professional career where he started his career in 2009 in Arusha after studying special decision-making courses offered by the Arusha Regional Football Association.

In 2016 he attended a university in Mauritius continued to groom his passion for football. He managed to officiate 194 games in various leagues including Division I, II, III, National League as well as FA Cup games, and became the first Tanzanian to officiate domestic leagues in a foreign country.

“Working as a referee has been an exciting journey I’ve learned a lot from professionals, both locally and abroad. I would say every referee who has decided to give up his time to take this job is the best. However, no referee inspires me more than Pierluigi Collina. Personally, Collina is a living story,” Temu told BBC.

Temu’s career in football was first honed in Arusha in 2009 Arusha after studying a course in the field offered by the Arusha Regional Football Association.

Over the past three weeks since December, he has officiated games including a match between Arsenal U20 against Southend United U20, Crystal Palace U20 against Stevenage FC U20, and MK Dons U20 against Crystal Palace U20.