Local football governing body Safa has begun steps to introduce Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in local football.

Spearheaded by recently-retired referee Victor Gomes who is now chairperson of the association's Referees Committee, VAR could start being used in the upcoming season.

Safa Head of Referees, Abdul Ebrahim, outlined the steps they will follow in introducing the refereeing technology.

"We may decide to start with the Cup competitions, maybe the Nedbank Cup in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final but it will depend on how the training goes," Ebrahim told Scrolla.Africa.

But it will not start with Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches this season.

"It will not be during the league because there is a lot of groundwork that needs to be done first before we get to that particular stage," said Ebrahim.

"We have just sent a letter of intent to Fifa and we will know, from them, the next steps we need to follow.

"You must know it's a huge process and the training part of the process is obviously what will come first."

South Africa only has a few match officials trained on VAR.

Gomes himself, Zakhele Siwela, Abongile Tom and women referee Akhona Makhalima are some of the officials who have previously used this refereeing technology.

"We have very few trained officials so training them will be the biggest part," added Ebrahim.

"Then next would be having the equipment. For now, we wait to hear from Fifa what the next steps are."

A few African countries have implemented VAR interventions but calls have been growing for South Africa to introduce it.

Morocco became the first on the continent to use it in 2019 during the Coupe du Trone semi-final match between Difaa Jadida and Ittihad Casablanca while Egypt introduced it in 2021.

Recently, Zambia relied on VAR during the Absa Cup final between MUZA and Forest Rangers.