As a mission-critical system, VAR calls for a dedicated service provider with the equipment, know-how and experience.
Nicolas is a partner at Broadcast Solutions Middle East and Africa
Since its first implementation at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, video assistant referee (VAR) systems have been rolled out across several international championships and national leagues. Now included in the laws of the game, VAR is fast becoming a priority for many national football associations across the Middle East and Africa.
Initially designed for competitions with large-scale broadcast productions that use twenty or more cameras and multiple super slow-motion feeds, VAR requirements have been simplified. They can now be implemented for games covered with more modest means, and FIFA recently published VAR Light specifications for matches produced with eight cameras or fewer.
Implementing VAR for a federation or football association is still a journey that involves multiple parties and requires careful planning. As an extension to the officiating process, VAR is driven first and foremost by referees. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) specifies the process that must be followed to roll out VAR within their federations in its implementation handbook and via its Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme (IAAP).
Referees are not alone, though. A service provider must be identified to provide the audiovisual infrastructure required to operate VAR. Beyond the video operation rooms (VOR) that host video assistant referees, their assistants and eventual replay operators, this infrastructure needs integration. It must connect to the wireless intercom system used by referees on the pitch, and to the video production facilities deployed by the host broadcaster.
As a mission-critical system, VAR calls for a dedicated service provider with the equipment, know-how and experience. As such, VAR constitutes a new opportunity for production companies either as an extension to their host broadcasting operations or as an independent service. Setting up such an offering means adequate infrastructure but also training, certification and project management. Several aspects need to be accounted for.
Based on the available in-country telecom infrastructure, whether to go for a centralised implementation can be considered. Where fibre to all stadiums exists, a central facility consolidating multiple VORs can be implemented. Such remote operations require consistent connectivity to ensure that camera signals are transmitted with sufficient quality and that intercom voice communications between video assistant referees and their colleagues in the field enjoy low latency. To date, such fibre infrastructure remains rare or too costly, and local in-stadium VAR deployments prove easier to implement.
Depending on the host broadcaster’s infrastructure, VAR systems need to be properly dimensioned to handle the number and types of camera feeds used to cover the games. Video format (SD, 1080i, 1080p or UHD), frame rate (PAL, slow motion or super slomo) and transport medium (SDI, HD-SDI, NDI, quad SDI or SMPTE 2110) need to be accounted for. If broadcast coverage of games is sporadic, dedicated camera and audiovisual infrastructure may be required in stadiums to ensure availability of VAR services.
Beyond these technical considerations, overall project management is key to ensuring that adequate training is delivered and FIFA certification is seamless. This certification process needs to be carefully scheduled, as it aims to validate the skills of both future video assistant referees and replay operators.
Finally, once systems are rolled out and implemented, on-going technical support must guarantee operational readiness throughout the season.
Above and beyond specific IFAB and FIFA requirements, the roll-out of VAR services could well contribute to the emergence of a new wave of sports programming. As video infrastructure becomes a must-have, football leagues and competitions that have yet to be broadcast over the air could find a driver that contributes to their distribution over the internet and mobile networks. A new breed of OTT provider that seeks to offer live coverage of regional and local games over smartphones and smart TVs could well knock on the doors of football federations and national associations; the corresponding broadcast rights would be all the more welcome since they would contribute to financing VAR implementations. Time will tell.
Nicolas is a partner at Broadcast Solutions Middle East and Africa
