African football set to benefit from newly launched CAF VAR Academy Programme

The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) is launching the CAF Video Assistant Referee (“VAR”) Academy for the 54 CAF Member Associations – a move that is aimed at elevating the standard of officiating in Africa.

Following CAF’s recent hosting of the most successful TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations that saw the quality of officiating being singled out, CAF is building onto this success with the innovative academy set to be rolled out between September and October 2024.

The CAF VAR Academy will train Elite Referees across the continent for international competitions and national championships on the use of VAR and ensure that Africa continues to produce elite referees, as seen in recent times.

CAF Technical Development Director, Raul Chipenda said the VAR Academy Programme is a practical step by CAF to improve the standard of match officiating in Africa and ensure that African referees are equipped to compete against the best in the world.

“In the last few months, CAF has had a strong bias in upskilling match officials on the usage of VAR that is why at the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, our officials were rated amongst the best. But it does not help having a small group, we need a big pool.

“Officiating plays a critical role in the development of African football, as evidently seen in the success of the recent TotalEnergies CAF AFCON. CAF actively oversees and supports a number of football development programmes and competitions across Africa and with that said, it is equally vital that match officials across Africa are adequately equipped with the latest officiating technology, means and education in order to remain on par with the existing pool of officials on the continent”, said Chipenda.

The CAF VAR Academy, which will be attended by elite referees across CAF’s 54 Member Associations will also be the first step in introducing VAR across the continent.

As part of its rollout programme, CAF will be embarking on a continental drive of conducting CAF VAR Academy workshops across its Zonal Unions in the next few months where 180 referees are expected to be reached.

CAF VAR ACADEMY 2024 WORKSHOP DATES: