The 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has already been ground-breaking and the tournament will for the first time see the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at all 28 matches of the tournament. “This is a bold step in the right direction. As women’s football is growing in Africa, it is important that we adopt the latest trends and technology to enhance the game. We have some of the best match officials in Africa in Morocco and training and development of them is key for us. Four female match officials, Salima Mukasanga of Rwanda, Carine Atemzabong of Cameroon and Fatiha Jermoumi, and Bouchra Karboubi from Morocco, were part of the list of match officials at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon and did an amazing job. By using VAR for all matches at WAFCON we are looking to continue the progression and development of the standard of CAF women’s football”, says CAF Director of Referees, Eddy Mailet.
The full implementation of VAR at key events was a priority for CAF:
- All 52 matches at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon used VAR.
- VAR was used for the Knockout stages of the Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup 2021/22.
- VAR was used for the first time at the latter stages of the Women’s Champions League
- VAR was used at two Super Cup finals: 2020 and 2021
- VAR was used at the last phase of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers (last 10 countries), both home and away.
The WAFCON kicks off on Saturday night, 2 July 2022, in Rabat, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, when hosts Morocco face Burkina Faso.
Source: CAF