29 Apr 2025

Botswana Football Association (BFA) has embarked on a week’s course to train referees on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

BFA referees’ manager, Jonti Rasetsoga said on the sidelines of the workshop that the VAR workshop was a welcome development for Botswana football as it would help the officials re-inforce the integrity of football as well as up the standard of local referees.

The VAR, he said, would go a long the way in helping in making sure that spectators turned up in large numbers to watch games. He said he was also cognisant of the fact that there had been a public outcry due to poor officiating, partly due to ignorance of the laws of game.

National Referees Commission chairperson, Lekgotla Johannes said currently Botswana did not have a pool of referees outside the tournament, as such COSAFA, CAF and FIFA emphasise that the match official should be equipped with VAR. He said VAR was now becoming a pre-requisite for the match officials in international games.

“This course is going to increase a pool of referees because even those who are not in the FIFA panel can be recognised as VAR assistant referees,” he said.

Johannes said starting from the coming COSAFA, only those trained on VAR would be fixtured.

Meanwhile, Referee Instructor Felix Tangawarima was quoted by COSAFA saying “For a referee to be certified, they have to be trained and go through a minimum of 25 hours. This will enable Botswana referees to be VAR certified and participate or be called for international match fixtures to officiate,” he said. ENDS