Argentine football ratifies its commitment to SimplyLive as the basis of its VAR

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) will feature SimplyLive technology Riedel at least for the next five years thanks to an agreement reached with Tournaments.

Operated by Tournaments and with technology SimplyLive, the system debuted in 2021 as the first centralized implementation of OUR in Latin America. The Riedel solution is managed from the AFA replay center, an infrastructure located near Buenos Aires that has five video operating rooms (VOR) y eight mobile units.

These facilities allow refereeing up to five simultaneous games and provide support to 12 and 14 games per weekend, which means more than 400 games a year. Ramiro Prado, technology director of Tournaments, highlights that SimplyLive It gives them, above all, “flexibility, redundancy and ease of use”: “Our referees value the intuitive touchscreen interface, and the system's ability to manage high-level matches with Supermo cameras and additional signals ensures we are prepared for any challenge.”

The system includes 15 SimplyLive 16-channel HD servers, configured to offer redundancy and scalability, with two additional servers added during the renovation to support larger matches that scale to more than 32 ingestion channels for standard and high frame rate cameras. It also incorporates SimplyLive RefBox y repeat capabilities for relay workflows.

Each VOR and server room is fully redundant, providing uninterrupted operation during peak demand. Additionally, the solution is compatible with transmission methods AND y SRT, while intercom technology Riedel provides “clear, low latency” communication between referees, replay operators and production teams.

The project meets the certification requirements of the FIFA, which require rigorous testing and annual compliance checks to maintain operational standards. The training of referees began with simulators (units Mini8) before full deployment.

Andrew Grant, director of live production sales for the eastern region of Riedel Communications, highlights the deployment: "This renewal by one of the world's leading football federations underlines the trust placed in our technology. Together with SimplyLive, we have built a centralized VAR infrastructure that meets FIFA standards and offers tangible benefits, from reducing travel expenses and improving the quality of life of referees to consistent, high-quality refereeing throughout Argentina."