The Confederation of African Football revealed its initiation in implementing a set of deep amendments to its internal laws and regulatory systems, in a step aimed at raising the level of confidence in the refereeing system, whether at the level of referees or supervisors of video technology, in addition to the judicial bodies affiliated with it.
This initiative falls within the continental body’s efforts to avoid repeating the irregularities that accompanied the final of the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, and to work on restoring the reputation of African refereeing, which had previously received widespread praise during the Ivory Coast edition.
In this context, the President of CAF, Patrice Motsepe, explained that these reforms include technical and legal aspects, including reviewing the criteria for selecting referees and operators of the ‘VAR’ technology, with the aim of ensuring the highest degrees of accuracy and professionalism in managing matches.
He also indicated that the changes will extend to the mechanism for appointing match observers, with enhanced cooperation with the International Football Federation to develop advanced training programs that help elevate African refereeing to the level of the global elite, in addition to working on improving the professional and material situation of referees.
The same official added that the reforms also affected the judicial committees, where there will be a focus on selecting highly experienced African legal competencies to work within the Discipline and Appeal Committees, ensuring their complete independence in making decisions.
Motsepe confirmed that CAF has enlisted international experts in sports law to update its regulations in line with global standards, emphasizing that the primary goal of these steps is to enhance the credibility of African football and entrench the principle of equal opportunities among all member associations, away from any discrimination.
