Bafana Bafana Coach Urges Implementation of VAR in African Football

Bafana Bafana‘s head coach, Hugo Broos, has emphasized the critical need for the introduction of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) in African football, specifically highlighting the recent World Cup qualifiers.

The call for VAR in African football comes on the heels of a contentious 1-1 draw between South Africa’s national team, Bafana Bafana, and Nigeria at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

The ongoing African qualifiers for the World Cup have been marred by a series of controversial refereeing decisions, prompting many to advocate for the implementation of VAR to rectify such errors.

Responsibility for incorporating VAR in continental competitions, including the World Cup qualifiers, falls on the Confederation of African Football (CAF). In contrast, other confederations like UEFA, CONMEBOL, and Asia have already integrated VAR into their respective World Cup qualifiers.

Broos stressed the significance of minimizing human error through VAR, particularly in high-stakes tournaments like the World Cup qualifiers, citing the positive impact of VAR during the 2023 AFCON.

In South Africa’s previous World Cup journey in 2022, a controversial penalty call in their defeat against Ghana underlined the repercussions of refereeing errors in crucial matches where VAR was not in use.

Looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup qualification campaign, Broos highlighted the importance of VAR, acknowledging the financial implications associated with the technology’s implementation.

While recognizing the cost factor, Broos underscored the pivotal role of VAR in potentially game-changing decisions, emphasizing that a single goal can determine a team’s World Cup fate.