The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) launched its first-ever Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Workshop in Lusaka on Monday, bringing together 40 male and female referees for an intensive five-day training program.
This initiative marks a milestone as Zambia becomes the first country in East, Central, and Southern Africa to roll out an official VAR training program.
The workshop is led by top international and regional experts, including FIFA IT Technology Support and COSAFA VAR specialist Ramy Gamal, FIFA VAR Instructor Carlos Astroza, and COSAFA Referees Manager Felix Tangawarima, who also serves as the VAR project manager.
During the training, referees are expected to complete a minimum of 25 hours of hands-on practice to become certified for VAR operations.
Speaking at the event, Tangawarima highlighted COSAFA’s dedication to implementing VAR technology, announcing that all COSAFA tournaments in 2025 will feature VAR.
He also emphasized the importance of the program in preparing Zambian referees for the introduction of VAR in the Zambian Super League.
This training is essential as Zambia gears up to implement VAR in its league soon.
FAZ President Andrew Kamanga, who officiated the opening ceremony, expressed gratitude to COSAFA for supporting the initiative.
“Please deliver this message to the COSAFA Executive that we are indeed very grateful that you have been able to come and support us with this initiative. There can be no successful implementation of VAR without trained personnel. This exercise is critical in ensuring that we are ready for the undertaking that we have signed up,” Kamanga said.
“We are already doing a lot of work in our game to incorporate technology as witnessed by the recent handover of Global Tracking System equipment for all our Super League teams for both men and women. All these developments are embedded in our 10-year strategic plan that we are calling Vision 2030.”
