CAF and Catapult agree new deal to monitor and improve performance of match officials

The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) have agreed a deal with Catapult to provide 1,375 athlete monitoring devices to match officials from 55 countries under their jurisdiction.

Following the agreement between CAF and Catapult to provide PLAYERTEK+ technology to national federations across the African continent, this groundbreaking new initiative sees the total number of GPS tracking devices provided to CAF reach 4,000.

As part of the agreement, each of the 55 participating nations will receive 25 PLAYERTEK+ units to help quantify the physical demands faced by officials in domestic and international football. By gathering this information, CAF and its member federations will be able to more effectively monitor and improve the fitness levels of their match officials.

As CAF continue to build and advance their performance infrastructure, Catapult representatives recently travelled to the confederation’s Cairo headquarters to discuss ongoing projects and plan future initiatives.

CAF, Through its Development Division, said: “With the first and second phases of PLAYERTEK + device distribution, CAF Administration has taken a very important step in protecting the health of football players on the continent as well as in the evolution of their performance at training and match levels.

“This time CAF Administration decided to do the same with the referees, because they are also a fundamental part for the quality and success of a football match and today with the requirement made to a referee on a physical level – they can run up to 10 km in a match – it is important to protect their health and to increase their performance. With this partnership we hope to continue to contribute to the growth of football on our continent.”

Barry McNeill, Catapult’s CEO for Elite, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting CAF as they continue to develop a strong performance infrastructure throughout African football. By extending the use of performance technology to match officials, CAF are putting themselves in a position to monitor and improve the performance of officials and ensure that they are prepared to meet the demands of elite football.”

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