Egyptian Premier League video referees to attend pre-season preparation camp

The Egyptian Referees Committee will hold a preparation camp for Video Assistant Referee officials in the coming days as part of its work ahead of the new domestic football season.

The camp is being organised before the start of the Egyptian Premier League and other local competitions, according to information obtained by FilGoal.com.

Its main aim is to improve the readiness of VAR referees and promote greater consistency in the way key incidents are judged. Particular attention will be given to ensuring officials apply the same standards and interpret refereeing situations uniformly during matches.

The programme is expected to include lectures and practical training sessions covering some of the most significant incidents VAR officials could face during the season. It will also include a review of the procedures for dealing with controversial decisions.

The move comes as the Egyptian Referees Committee prepares for the opening of the 2026-27 Egyptian Premier League campaign, which begins on Friday, 21 August.

The first match of the new season will see Wadi Degla face ZED FC.

Zamalek won the Egyptian Premier League title last season after a closely fought battle with Pyramids FC and Al Ahly that continued until the final round.

The league will be played in two stages under the competition’s new format.

In the opening phase, all 20 teams will play each other once, producing a total of 19 rounds. At the end of that stage, the clubs will be divided into two groups for the decisive phase of the competition.

The six highest-ranked teams will compete in the championship group to determine the league title. The remaining 14 clubs, placed from seventh to 20th, will enter the relegation group and compete to avoid dropping into the second tier.

Each team will carry forward the same number of points it earned during the first phase. However, the standings in the final phase will be determined separately within each group, with both groups also being played on a single round-robin basis.

If two or more clubs finish level on points, their positions in the table will be decided according to Article 15 of the competition regulations.

The four teams finishing at the bottom of the table in the relegation group will be relegated to the lower division, the Professional League.

The video refereeing camp is therefore intended to give officials additional preparation before the league and domestic competitions begin, with the emphasis on making decisions more consistent across the season.