The Council of Southern African Football Associations, COSAFA, is looking to speed up the implementation of Video Assisted Referee, VAR, system in the region. This is according to the COSAFA Head of Referees, Felix Tangawarimwa.
“As a region, as COSAFA, we have been advocating for that(use of VAR.) As CAF, we are working hand in hand with CAF. In the next week or two CAF is going to bring equipment, training equipment for our region,” Tangawarimwa explained in an interview with SABC Sport.
VAR has been successfully implemented at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and Tangawarimwa says COSAFA is looking to use it as soon as possible.
“We will be using it in the Senior Challenge which is around May and I’m encouraging the national associations, in addition to the referees we select as a zone, if they can sacrifice and bring more referees from their national associations for our five-day training session. You will find that it will help a lot, they will not wait for the scheduled training session at their national association” stressed the Zimbabwean retired referee.
Tangawarimwa encouraged football associations to embrace technology in the refereeing world. Football Associations must not allow their referees to be left behind.
“Mind you, we are going to move with those who are moving. The train is not stopping. The train is going and they need to be part of the train,” urged Tangawarimwa.