14 October 2026 – A South African Football Association (SAFA) delegation led by President Dr Danny Jordaan met with Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie in Pretoria and hosted a joint press conference that gave an update about VAR (Video Assistant Referee).
The press conference was held at the Freedom Park Heritage Site & Museum and was also attend by Deputy Minister Peace Mabe, members of the SAFA National Executive Committee Linda Zwane, and Job Mchunu, SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao, SAFA CFO Gronie Hluyo, SAFA Chief Medical Officer Dr Thulani Ngwenya, DSAC Director-General Dr Cynthia Khumalo and other members of the Department.
“VAR is not an easy thing, but I will say this to you, VAR is going to happen, and VAR is busy happening. We have dates, not next year, but tomorrow. So we are not going there tomorrow to shake hands, we are going to talk to FIFA so that we can move,” Minister McKenzie said.
“A lot of injuries occur when the players think that the referee is not looking. So, there will be a 360 view of the match by the referee and VAR. This will help to protect the players and to modernise the game. Velile was in Cabo Verde where we discussed the elevation and the performance of African teams in the World Cup, and what we need to do to push Africa closer to winning the World Cup. It’s not the kind of talk that has ever happened anywhere in a conversation on African football. And therefore, VAR becomes critical in that process,” said Dr Jordaan.
“SAFA initiated the VAR Project in 2024 as a referee-development, football-modernisation, and compliance initiative, not merely an equipment-procurement exercise. Our primary purpose was to train and develop South African match officials in applying VAR protocols and to ensure that South African referees remain competitive and appropriately prepared for appointments in CAF and FIFA competitions, within the implementation of VAR in our local leagues,” said the SAFA CEO.
SAFA initially intended to self-fund the referee-development program in collaboration with COSAFA, CAF and FIFA. The Department’s subsequent allocation of R20 million accelerated an initiative that SAFA had already committed to implementing, however removing the major obstacle, which is funding, in this implementation.
The principal domestic beneficiaries from this VAR are expected to include the men’s Betway Premiership, the women’s Hollywoodbets Super League and appropriate SAFA competitions such as the ABC Motsepe League and the SAFA Women’s Provincial League national play-offs. This project should therefore be regarded as a national football infrastructure and referee-development program with technology, training, broadcasting, competition and infrastructure components.
The VAR Task Team, after performing some research, reported in September 2026, highlighting several practical challenges affecting implementation. The VAR Project team also advised that meaningful progress requires alignment and agreement between SAFA and the NSL on a joint implementation strategy. It further noted that engagement with service providers, technical demonstrations and comprehensive evaluation processes require more time to be undertaken properly thus there had not been sufficient time afforded for the team to conduct these.
The project team also expressed concern that unresolved stakeholder alignment issues, e.g. with the NSL and broadcasters, combined with limited timeframes, hindered implementation until such a time these matters are fully addressed before significant procurement commitments are made.
The team’s position reinforced the broader governance principle that implementation which involved procurement of the VAR equipment should proceed only once all critical football, technical, operational and financial stakeholders are aligned.
WHY IMPLEMENTATION HAS TAKEN LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED
The implementation of VAR is not merely the purchase of equipment.
It is a complex football-modernisation programme requiring:
• FIFA approval.
• Referee certification and training.
• Competition integration.
• Broadcaster compatibility.
• Infrastructure readiness.
• Procurement compliance.
• Sustainability planning.
• Long-term operational funding.
The internal readiness assessment conducted internally identified a number of significant risks including:
• Compatibility with existing broadcast environments.
• Connectivity reliability for remote VAR operations.
• Camera coverage requirements.
• Referee communication systems.
• Asset replacement and lifecycle planning.
• Ongoing maintenance and support costs.
These matters must be resolved before full deployment can responsibly take place.
SAFA’S CURRENT APPROACH
As SAFA, our current focus is on referee development and training
Based on guidance received through COSAFA and FIFA implementation requirements, the training and certification process is expected to take approximately six months and will involve theoretical, simulator-based and field-based practical training for referees, Video Assistant Referees and Assistant Video Assistant Referees. SAFA already has 8 referees successfully trained through COSAFA on VAR, with 3 referees fully approved as Referee, VAR and AVAR namely Tom Abongile, Luxolo Badi and Akhona Makhalima.
SAFA has already engaged COSAFA regarding referee training programmes and intends to expand this pool of trained South African officials to support eventual implementation in our leagues. SAFA is scheduled to meet with FIFA on 15 October 2026 for approval to kickstart the training of our referees.
SAFA’s position is therefore to prioritise referee training while outstanding technical, procurement and stakeholder engagement matters are finalised by the Task Team and a strengthen VAR Project Team.
NEXT STEPS
The current roadmap includes:
Immediate Priorities
• Further engagement with FIFA, scheduled from 15 October 2026 onwards.
• Further engagement with COSAFA on the training of referees.
• Strengthening the VAR Project Team with representation from finance, technical, the PSL and broadcasters.
• Finalising engagement by the VAR Project Team with the PSL.
• Engagement between the VAR Project Team with broadcasters including SuperSport/Canal+ and SABC.
• Confirming technical compatibility requirements.
• Conducting supplier demonstrations.
• Advancing referee training programmes.
Trial Phase
SAFA’s next milestone is not immediate full implementation of VAR but rather a controlled trial phase.
Trials may be undertaken in:
• SAFA competitions, e.g HSL;
• Play-off tournaments, e.g ABC Motsepe Playoffs;
• Appropriate cup competitions, e.g. Nedbank Cup; or
• Other suitable football environments approved under FIFA requirements, e.g. international friendly matches.
This approach will allow proof-of-concept validation before wider deployment.
Long-Term Rollout
Any broader rollout will be dependent on:
• FIFA approval;
• Successful completion of training;
• Procurement compliance;
• Stakeholder alignment;
• Technical readiness;
• Competition readiness; and
• Sustainability requirements.
KEY MESSAGES
SAFA remains fully committed to introducing VAR in South African football.
Extensive governance, technical and financial work has been undertaken since 2024 and we are of the view that the work should continue given the time and efforts invested in the process.
Public funds will only be utilised once all due diligence requirements have been satisfied and approval is granted by the Department.
Referee training is now the immediate priority, pending approval by the DSAC.
The next milestone will be a trial phase of VAR usage, rather than full implementation.
Further and ongoing engagement is required with FIFA, COSAFA, the PSL, broadcasters and government.
SAFA remains committed to transparency, accountability and regular public reporting.
CONCLUSION
The introduction of VAR remains an important strategic objective for South African football. While implementation has taken longer than originally envisaged, SAFA believes the additional governance, technical and financial scrutiny undertaken over the past year has been necessary to protect public funds and ensure the long-term success of the project.
The focus now is on building a sustainable, technically compliant and operationally effective VAR system that serves South African football for many years to come.
SAFA remains committed to working collaboratively with government, FIFA, COSAFA, the NSL, broadcasters and all affected stakeholders to achieve that objective.
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