Durban — The SA Football Association has taken a giant leap in steps towards accelerating the launching of video assistant referee technology following president Danny Jordaan’s latest visit to Europe.
Jordaan, who also met former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, revealed he had linked up with refereeing royalty in the form of Italian ex-official Pierluigi Collina.
The pair are believed to have sat down to discuss the imminent implementation of the VAR system in South Africa, as refereeing standards worsen every season.
Collina is currently involved in a huge Fifa project that is aimed at developing top-quality refereeing all around the globe.
The retirement of Victor Gomes (he now holds the position of chairman of the Safa referees committee) means Zakhele Siwela is the only VAR-trained official in the country.
The 63-year-old is a recipient of Fifa’s Best Referee of the Year award for six consecutive years from 1998 to 2003, and will be tasked with fast-tracking the introduction of the VAR system as Safa look to improve the state of the country’s officiating sooner rather than later.
Jordaan also revealed details of his conversation with Wenger, who is currently serving as Fifa’s chief of global football development, stating that Wenger’s expertise would aid in developing required footballing structures as the nation bids to host future World Cups.
“I have met a lot of influential football people globally lately, and when I was in Paris last week I met, among other people, Collina and Arsene Wenger. We want to tap into their expertise as we move towards revamping and taking our game to the next level,” said Dr Jordaan
He then added: “We want Wenger to help with boosting and revamping the development structures, and Collina to help set up the long-awaited VAR process. These are exciting times for South African football, as we are also bidding for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup.”
“We are vigorously moving forward as part of our Vision 2030, and we have lined up extensive and various programmes to shape our goals. In the coming weeks, we will be calling upon all our regions, LFAs and structures to workshop them on what Fifa directed all MAs to do.”
IOL Sport