CAF holds Media Open Day for TotalEnergies CHAN Referees

The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) has held an open day for the media with match officials of the ongoing TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Algeria.

Various media representatives at the tournament attended Thursday’s event at the 5 July Olympic Stadium in Algiers to understand how the match officials take their decisions during matches.

Under the auspices of the Refereeing Division of CAF, the referees officiating the matches of the CHAN conducted a training session as has been the case since their arrival in Algeria for the tournament.

The media open day helped the journalists to understand how referees, assistant referees, VAR referees and assistant VAR referees prepare with an explanation of the daily physical training match officials undergo to keep them in top shape for their duties.

The open training session started with the referees being put into groups with those charged with managing the CHAN quarter-final matches training alone in the centre of the pitch with the special physical exercise they undergo before the start of matches.

As usual, while the rest trained individually with more focus on physical work.

“Today, a regular training session is taking place for all the referees, who are concerned with the first and second quarter-final matches, subject to special work. The rest work alone and focus with the physical trainer on the physical side to stay in good shape, whether it is related to assistant referees, or referees who are not appointed to manage the matches,” manager of CAF referees’ division Mamadou Haidara said.

"The referees are in good condition so far and there are no injuries. We are doing a good job in the preparations, and so far I think that the referees are managing matches at the CHAN well."

The media tour moved to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology room, where the journalists were provided with a detailed explanation of how the two key aspects – the VAR referees and the VAR assistant referees work, with live examples of how they operate during matches.

The CAF Head of Refereeing Noumandiez Doue spoke about how the match officials for the ongoing CHAN were prepared to undertake their duties during the tournament designed exclusively for home-based players.

“We are happy with the performance of the referees at the CHAN so far and for this reason we must continue to work hard until the end of the tournament to be at the same high level throughout the competition. So far the conditions are good for referees," Doue said.

"Everyone saw that the VAR was used effectively a few times during the CHAN matches, and this indicates that the referees are doing their good work in the field, which is what we want."

The journalists ended the open day when they observed the assistant referees training on how offside decisions are determined and how the pitch officials cooperate with their colleagues at the VAR desk.

The Algerian referee Lotfi Boukawassa, who is part of the match officials for the competition, was delighted with his experiences so far and revealed their daily routine.

“We have worked under the best conditions prepared by CAF and the organising country, which has helped us a lot to deliver on the field. We hope that we have performed our tasks in the best way, and that we will have a better future. We train daily on the pitch in the morning at the stadium, and in the evening we go for the theoretical aspect in the conference room."

Assistant referee, Cameroonian Carine Atezambong, who will be part of the match officials for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, said the training they have before the start of competitions plays a crucial role in their performance.

“There are several laws that change in refereeing every year, and we must start our preparations a week before the start of the competition in order to be able to effectively implement these changes when the tournament starts.”

The chairman of the CAF Referees Committee Celestin Ntagungira, revealed that they are satisfied with the performance of the match officials at the CHAN and is confident African match officials will be globally competitive.

“At the level of the referee committee, we are satisfied with the work that the referees have done in the CHAN tournament. We have no problems and we are working to improve the level and prepare well for the quarter-final and semi-final matches, as well as the final,” Ntagungira said.

"African refereeing is at a good level, and we have hope and we are even sure that we will be in a better position than other continents."

The media representatives left the open day satisfied with the move by the Referees Division of CAF to open its doors to journalists with the education that will inevitably benefit the fans and football followers.