VAR has been trialled in some domestic English cup games this season, and has been used in Germany and Italy.

“We need to live with the times,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

“We wanted to give the referees tools so they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made.”

He added: “It’s not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn’t.”

VAR was first used at the Club World Cup in December 2016, and trialled in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

The system was described as “comical” and “embarrassing” after Tottenham’s 6-1 FA Cup win over Rochdale in late February, when a goal was disallowed and a converted penalty overturned.

The Premier League is not expected to introduce VAR next season, and Uefa has already said it will not be used in the 2018-19 Champions League.

Spain’s La Liga and France’s Ligue 1 are to introduce it from next season, while the Bundesliga will decide on 22 March.

“I was sceptical at first, but without trying you cannot know what it’s worth,” Infantino added.

“Without VAR, a referee can make one important mistake every three matches. With VAR, the figures we have seen from the trials that have been held show that a big mistake is made once every 19 matches.”

The world governing body’s formal announcement comes after the International Football Association Board (Ifab) “unanimously approved” the introduction of VAR on a permanent basis earlier this month.

Ifab is made up of Fifa and the Football Associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Each FA has one vote to Fifa’s four, with six votes required for a change in the laws.

The body made the decision to approve the technology following the results of independent analysis conducted by Belgian university KU Leuven.

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Source: BBC

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However his form has been ignored by handlers of the national team of Ghana for the upcoming Afcon qualifier against Ethiopia and the international friendlies against the United States and Mexico.

Head Coach of the Black Stars Kwesi Appiah strangely could not find a spot for Accam in his thirty man squad.

He responded to the snub in the best possible manner by helping his side beat a resilient Dallas FC.

In typical fashion Accam latched unto a diagonal pass from Johan Kappelhof before shaking off his marker and firing hard and low to restore Fire’s lead in the 9th minute against Dallas FC.

His fine form is a major reason why Chicago Fire have also been able to win four consecutive matches,taking their points tally to 24 for the season and elevating them to second on the Eastern Conference log.

With seven goals in thirteen matches he is making his presence felt on the MLS leader-board and currently ranks fifth on the goal scorers chart.

He is also his team’s most creative player with four assists to his name.

Accam has received call ups to the national team in the past but has failed to entrench himself as a permanent member of the set up.

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By:Benjamin Nketsia/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Gyan scored for the Black Stars with his first touch of the game on 67 minutes before Acheampong extended the advantage with another strike eight minutes later.

The Black Stars totally dominated the game from the start but found the Asian Champions League campaigners hard to crack as they were very organised in the defence.

Ghana had several chances to open the scoring in the first half but the goalkeeper was spot on with three saves while debutante Bernard Tekpetey missed narrowly from 30 yards.

Andre Ayew’s powerful header was held by the shot stopper before the goalkeeper produced a similar save to prevent Jordan Ayew.

Christian Atsu’s trickery helped him to reach the box but with the goalkeeper beaten the Asians cleared the ball off the line.

Avram Grant made several changes after the break and that brought instant results with Gyan at the right place with the tap in to open the scoring.

Hardworking Tekpetey worked his way through the defence but his powerful shot was blocked only for Acheampong to tap in to seal the victory.

The game was the Black Stars first since the start of their preparation for the tournament in Gabon. Ghana are likely to play a second match before they depart for Gabon on Friday.

The Black Stars are in a tough group as they play Uganda, Egypt and Mali in Group D.

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Source: GFA

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Captain Asamoah Gyan leads the side that will begin an 11-day training tour in the UAE before travelling to Gabon on January 13 for the competition.

Below is the list:

Goalkeepers: Razak Braimah (Cordoba, Spain), Adam Kwarasey (Rosenborg, Norway) Richard Ofori (Wa All Stars)

Defenders: Harrison Afful (Columbus Crew, USA), Andy Yiadom (Barnsley, England), Baba Rahman (Schalke, Germany), (John Boye (Sivasspor, Turkey), Jonathan Mensah (Anzhi, Russia), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City, England), Edwin Gyimah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)

Midfielders: Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese, Italy), Afriyie Acquah (Torino, Italy), Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid, Spain) Mubarak Wakaso (Panathinaikos, Greece), Christian Atsu (Newcastle, England), Ebenezer Ofori (AIK Stockholm, Sweden), Samuel Tetteh (Leifering, Austria), Joseph Larweh Attamah (Başakşehir, Turkey), Frank Acheampong (Anderlecht, Belgium).

Forwards: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ahli, UAE) Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa, England), Abdul-Majeed Waris (Lorient, France), Andre Ayew (West Ham, England), Ebenezer Assifuah (Sion, Switzerland), Bernard Tekpetey (Schalke, Germany), Rahpael Dwamena (Austria Lustenau, Austria)

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Source: GFA

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The GFA President is expected to touch down at 12:30 p.m. at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, where he will briefly interact with the media before proceeding with the welcome entourage to the headquarters of the Ghana Football Association at 2:00 p.m.

At the GFA, a short welcome ceremony will be held in his honour by the football fraternity, including staff of the GFA.

In a closely-contested elections held on Thursday in Cairo to elect two new African representatives to Fifa Council, Nyantakyi polled 31 votes to go through alongside Guinean Almamy Kabele, who polled 37 votes.

Madagascar’s Ahmad missed out narrowly with 30 votes whiles Senegal’s Augustin Senghor polled 9 votes.

The new FIFA Council replaces the erstwhile Fifa Executive Committee, which was disbanded following the recent reforms in FIFA. Nyantakyi is also a member of the Executive Committee of CAF.

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Source: GFA

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