African club football has taken a historic step. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will introduce Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology from the group stage of the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup this season, a long-awaited move to modernise officiating across the continent's competitions.
CAF's acting Secretary-General Samson Adamu confirmed the technology will come in at this stage of both tournaments. It marks a major shift in how African matches are managed and shows the confederation embracing modern tools to sharpen the accuracy of refereeing calls.
Referees should now make fewer costly mistakes, particularly on the flashpoints that decide games: penalty decisions, straight red cards and whether a goal should stand.