CAF has reportedly informed all the 24 nations that will take part in the 2021 African Cup of Nations [Afcon] that Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be used throughout the competition.
The VAR was implemented in the last edition in Egypt, but was abandoned in the group stages and was used from the knockout stage to the final.
Also, it was supposed to be used in the 2019 CAF Champions League final between Esperance and WAC but that did not happen due to malfunction of the system before kickoff, thereby leading to an abrupt end of the game.
However, the latest intelligence indicates that the continent’s highest football governing body, CAF, has communicated to all participating nations that there’s going to be the use of VAR throughout the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which will be staged in Cameroon.
READ ALSO
The opening game of the competition is scheduled to kick off on January 9, 2022, with a game between host nation Cameroon and Tunisia at the Olembe Stadium in the capital, Yaoundé. The delayed Afcon will end in February 2022.
Six main stadia have been earmarked to host games during the tournament. They are the Olembe Stadium that will host the opening and closing events, the 50,000 capacity Japoma stadium in Douala, the Yaoundé Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium, the Omnisport Stadium in Bafoussam, the Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Ngeme, and the Roumde Adja stadium in Garoua.
These six playgrounds are already equipped with the VAR system which was used during the African Nation’s Championship, CHAN, that took place in Cameroon this year.