The Referees Manager for the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and head of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) project, Alex Kotey believes that introducing VAR will enhance the credibility of refereeing in the Ghana Premier League.
His remarks follow a series of controversial refereeing decisions in the league that have sparked dissatisfaction among football fans.
Recently, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) held a crucial meeting with GFA representatives and other stakeholders to discuss the implementation of VAR in Ghana’s domestic leagues.
This two-day meeting, attended by FIFA’s full VAR project team, marked the initial phase of FIFA’s Implementation Assessment Approval Program (IAAP) — a necessary step for any Member Association (MA) aiming to adopt VAR.
In an interview with Citi Sports after the event, Kotey shared insights into the discussions with VAR officials.
Referred to as the “VAR kick-off meeting,” this session was essential for reviewing key components of the VAR project and assessing all requirements for its successful rollout.
Once FIFA grants approval following this meeting, Ghana’s domestic leagues will officially proceed with VAR implementation.
The first benefit is that, it would bring some credibility to the league, high-level of credibility.
A typical example is the AFCON 2024 that we just witnessed and we all saw that it was a success, because of the VAR.
So yes, credibility in our game will be very high if we are able to implement.
