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The Video Challenge System will be used for the first time in African soil during the continental Olympics qualifiers that serve off Sunday in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Introduced by the world volleyball governing body FIVB in 2013, the Challenge system has been a huge success in international competitions such as the World Cup and Grand Prix.
A total of 25 cameras are used for the Challenge system with 10 installed around the stadium, or arena, while another 15 are placed around the court.
Hawk Eye Innovations, a company based in England, are the brains behind the Challenge system which allows coaches and captains to contest referees’ decisions as well as match officials to ascertain their calls.
Electronic tablets are placed on the benches of both teams while the first referee, his assistant and the video referee also have tablets of their own which they use to call for the video review.
Decisions which can be challenged include ball in or out, block touch, net fault, antenna touch and foot fault.
Challenges must be requested only through the pre-programmed tablets right after the occurrence of the suspected fault and this will prompt the first referee to stop the action when the suspected fault occurs during play.
Otherwise, teams have eight seconds after the rally is over to challenge exclusively the decisive action which finishes the rally.
Both teams have the right to call video verification for referees decision twice per set and in case the challenge is unsuccessful the options decreases by one.
Kenya coach Paul Bitok believes the Challenge system will enhance fairness.
“It’s a very good system since referees have to be fair in their decisions. We have had problems in the past with officiating but the Challenge system will address that fully,” said Bitok.
Egypt coach Marco Queiroga says it is great that Africa is catching up with the world.
“This is my first time coaching in Africa and I think it’s important to have it. Sometimes the action is so fast for the human eye so it’s always good to confirm because some decisions can change the outcome of the match,” said Queiroga who has coached Brazil, Peru and Portugal before.
Cameroon coach Jean Rene Akono welcomed the new technology but urged teams to use it for its intended purpose.
“We are not very new to it since we have used it in global competitions and it’s good we are now in the international standard.
“Every technology has its loopholes since there are some mistakes the system cannot address.
“I hope teams will use it genuinely because we’ve had experiences abroad where the opponents use it to disrupt the flow of the game. Those stops normally slow down players,” he said.
Kenya and Egypt will be the first teams to experience the Challenge system when they face off in the opener slated for 6pm Kenyan time, today.
