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A Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Workshop commenced in the Zambian capital Lusaka on Monday, bringing together 40 male and female referees for an intensive five-day training programme.
This groundbreaking workshop is the first of its kind in East, Central, and Southern Africa, marking a major step forward in adopting VAR technology.
The workshop is being conducted by leading global and regional experts, including FIFA IT Technology Support and COSAFA VAR specialist Ramy Gamal,
FIFA VAR Instructor Carlos Astroza and COSAFA Referees Manager Felix Tangawarima, who also doubles as VAR project manager.
Speaking on the sidelines workshop, Tangawarima emphasised COSAFA’s commitment to VAR implementation, confirming that all COSAFA tournaments in 2024 will feature VAR.
“For this year 2025, all our tournaments in COSAFA will be done with VAR,” he said.
“Zambia is the first country in the Central, East and Southern zones to get the proper VAR project role out and we are going to be with the referees (in Lusaka) for the next five days where we anticipate every referee will do a minimum of 25 hours training.
“For a referee to be certified, they have to be trained and go through a minimum of 25 hours.”
Tangawarima said the training programme is vital in preparing and equipping Zambian referees as the Zambian Super League gears up to introduce VAR in the upcoming season.
“Zambia intends to introduce VAR in the league in the coming seasons and for them to be able to do that, we have to train as many referees as possible.
“We have 40 Super League referees who will be trained and certified at this groundbreaking VAR proper package.
“We started a pilot project for the (2023 Absa) Cup final of the Zambian game. We didn’t use Zambian referees because we didn’t have VAR-certified referees,” explained Tangawarima.
FAZ President Andrew Kamanga, who officiated at the opening ceremony, thanked COSAFA for bringing the initiative to Zambia.
“Please deliver this message to the COSAFA Executive that we are indeed very grateful that you have been able to come and support us with this initiative.
“There can be no successful implementation of VAR without trained personnel. This exercise is critical in ensuring that we are ready for the undertaking that we have signed up,” Kamanga said.
“We are already doing a lot of work in our game to incorporate technology as witnessed by the recent handover of Global Tracking System equipment for all our Super League teams for both men and women.
“All these developments are embedded in our 10-year strategic plan that we are calling Vision 2030.”
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A goal scored under soccer’s experimental “daylight” offside rule was allowed for the first time in a professional match on Saturday, with Pacific FC forward Alejandro Diaz on target in a 2-2 draw with Halifax Wanderers in the Canadian Premier League.
The strike would have been ruled out under the standard International Football Association Board Laws of the Game, but stood under the CPL’s ongoing trial conducted in cooperation with FIFA.
The Canadian league is testing the rule this season as part of efforts to reduce marginal offside decisions and encourage attacking play.
Under the system, an attacker is only deemed offside if there is clear “daylight” between them and the second-last defender, rather than being penalised for narrowly being ahead.
The concept, long advocated by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his role as FIFA’s head of global football development, is being assessed in Canada as a potential change to the offside law.
Diaz’s goal marked the first in-game application of the interpretation, which resulted directly in a goal, offering a glimpse of how the rule could alter attacking patterns and defensive positioning.
The CPL, which launched the trial earlier this month, has provided FIFA with a professional testing ground for the proposal as soccer’s world governing body evaluates whether to expand its use more broadly.
Reuters
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Al-Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy was handed a four-match ban after striking a referee on the head following a 1-1 draw with Ceramica Cleopatra, the Egyptian Pro League said on Thursday.
The Egypt international, who was on the bench for Tuesday’s game, was incensed after Al-Ahly’s appeal for a penalty following a handball in stoppage time was denied.
“He handed a four‑match ban and fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($942) for assaulting the referee by pushing or pulling (use of the hand without violence),” the league said in a statement.
The ban means El-Shenawy, who is expected to be Egypt’s starting goalkeeper at the World Cup in North America, will be sidelined until the final week of the league play-offs.
Al-Ahly are third on 41 points, five points behind leaders Zamalek.
-Reuters
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Galatasaray have strengthened their squad with another Napoli player, announcing on Friday that Dutch winger Noa Lang has joined the Turkish champions on loan for the remainder of the season, linking up with former Napoli player, Victor Osimhen in Istanbul.
The Super Lig giants confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Napoli for the temporary transfer of the 15-cap Netherlands international, with the deal including a non-mandatory purchase option that Galatasaray may activate at the end of the season.
Under the terms of the agreement, Galatasaray will pay €2 million as a loan fee to Napoli, while Lang will earn a seasonal salary of €1.75 million, according to a statement released by the club.
Lang joined Napoli last year from PSV Eindhoven but struggled to fully establish himself in Italy. He featured in 27 matches across all competitions, scoring once during his time with the Serie A side.
His arrival adds attacking depth to Galatasaray and further strengthens the Napoli connection at the club, with Osimhen already a central figure in their squad as they continue to push for domestic success and progress in European competition.
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