By McGeorge Mbare
Mauritania has become the latest African country to officially implement the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in its local football league. The system was officially introduced in the league at the Cheikha Boidiya Stadium in a match between AS Garde and Ksar on Saturday this past weekend.
The use of VAR in football was first included in the Laws of the Game in 2018/19. Morocco was the first ever African nation to use the technology in a domestic competition on African soil.
BSNSports.com.ng reported that the Mauritanian FA President Ahmed Yahya who has improved football in the North Western African country, has taken a bold step of implementing VAR, making his country one of the few on the continent to be using the technology in their local legaues.
Mauritanian Football Federation has advanced with plans not only to improve the image of refereeing but also produce world class match officials in their local league as nation’s top referees Aziz Bouh and Dahane Beida were reportedly among others who has undergone training from FIFA experts.
More African countries are lining up to implement VAR in their leagues with Tanzania already lining up to unveil the technology this 2024/25 season which began last month.
The use of VAR technology has become widespread throughout the world and African countries are making effort to ensure the continent is not left behind as football technology continues to evolve.