NPC representatives continuously submit proposals: VAR is not a "luxury" but a "necessity".

Special contribution/Yuan Ye The fairness of football competition is the cornerstone of the league's healthy development and an inherent requirement for the revitalization of Chinese football. As a national NPC representative who has been deeply involved in the football field for many years, chairman of Elite Group, and investor of Shijiazhuang Kungfu Club, Zhai Zhihai submitted the "Proposal on Comprehensively Promoting the Use of Video Assistant Referee Technology in China's Secondary Professional Football Leagues" at the Third Session of the 14th National People's Congress held in 2025, directly addressing the prominent pain points of frequent refereeing controversies and lagging VAR application in the China League One and China League Two. In response, the National Sports Administration provided an official reply in June 2025 regarding this proposal, clarifying the current practical challenges for comprehensive VAR promotion and the next steps for advancement.

Nearly a year later, based on the latest industry research and league practice, Zhai Zhihai raised a similar proposal again at the 2026 National Two Sessions. Zhai Zhihai stated: With the maturity of domestic technology, significant cost reduction, comprehensive compliance of venue conditions, and steady sufficient supply of personnel, the timing for fully implementing VAR in the China League One has already matured. The frequent controversial refereeing incidents in the 2026 season further make this technological upgrade an urgent baseline project.

Since its introduction into international football, Video Assistant Referee technology (VAR) has rapidly become a key technological support for correcting erroneous and missed calls and maintaining competition fairness. Against the backdrop of VAR's comprehensive application and significant effectiveness in the Chinese Super League, the shortcomings in refereeing enforcement and technical support in domestic secondary professional leagues have become increasingly prominent, evolving from a mere "difference in technical configuration" to a "gap in fair environment" affecting the industry's credibility.

In his 2025 proposal, Zhai Zhihai profoundly pointed out that China's secondary football leagues have long faced difficulties such as insufficient referee resources, uneven enforcement levels, and frequent misjudgments and wrong calls. For a long time, constrained by multiple factors including foreign technology monopoly, insufficient hardware investment, and lack of professional personnel, VAR has only been piloted in a few key matches in China League One and China League Two, failing to form a normalized, full-coverage application pattern, severely lagging behind the development trend of modern football.

To solve this pain point problem restricting league development, Zhai Zhihai proposed a systematic solution from four dimensions: policy guidance, capital investment, personnel training, and technological research.

In its reply dated June 26, 2025, the National Sports Administration fully acknowledged VAR's important role in enhancing competition fairness, clearly stating that its application in the Chinese Super League has achieved significant results, while frankly admitting that comprehensive promotion in China League One and China League Two faces three practical challenges: relatively high economic costs, weak infrastructure, and insufficient professional personnel. According to official previous estimates, fully implementing VAR in secondary leagues requires an annual investment exceeding tens of millions yuan; some stadiums' lighting, camera positions, and networks do not meet standards; FIFA-certified VAR referees and technical personnel reserves are relatively scarce; therefore, a prudent approach of piloting in key matches and gradual promotion is adopted. Regarding this reply, after months of in-depth research, Zhai Zhihai believes that the core factors restricting comprehensive VAR implementation have fundamentally changed and conditions for comprehensive promotion are now met.

High cost was once the biggest obstacle for VAR implementation in secondary leagues, but this problem has now been resolved. In his follow-up proposal in 2026, Zhai Zhihai stated that with domestic technologies like "China Hawk-Eye" obtaining FIFA authoritative certification, completely breaking the long-term foreign technology monopoly, the costs for equipment procurement and operation maintenance across the entire chain have significantly decreased, and the single-match VAR usage fee has substantially dropped. Considering the league's actual needs, he suggested optimizing and adjusting the promotion scope, prioritizing full-match coverage in the China League One, focusing on the most core and urgent fairness guarantee needs while further compressing the total investment scale, allowing league operators and clubs to bear it smoothly.

The claim of insufficient venue facility conditions also does not align with the current hardware status of the China League One. Zhai Zhihai believes that all China League One clubs' home stadiums have undergone strict standardized renovation and acceptance; most stadiums have hosted Chinese Super League matches, CFA Cup, and even international official events; core indicators such as stand height, lighting illuminance, network bandwidth, and camera position settings fully meet the requirements for stable VAR system operation, enabling quick launch without additional large-scale renovation. The hardware level of China League One venues has achieved a qualitative leap, fully possessing the hardware foundation for VAR implementation.

Concerns about shortage of professional personnel are also dispelled by mature league practices. The Jiangsu Football Super League (Jiangsu Super) in the 2026 season has already率先 fully implemented the VAR system, proving that domestically there is a mature replicable personnel training and technical service system. Leveraging the successful practical experience of Jiangsu Super and combining with the existing training and certification mechanisms of the Chinese Football Association, the VAR referee and technical personnel team can be rapidly expanded, fully meeting the normalized operational needs of the China League One; personnel supply is no longer an insurmountable obstacle.

Zhai Zhihai透露 to this newspaper that in the first 5 rounds of the 2026 China League One season, multiple controversial refereeing incidents have continuously occurred,引发 widespread dissatisfaction among clubs and fans. According to determinations by the Chinese Football Association's official refereeing review panel, multiple incidents such as missed penalty calls, key offside misjudgments, and wrong red card calls were directly caused by lacking VAR辅助复核. These erroneous and missed calls that could have been corrected by technology repeatedly directly changed match trends and results, profoundly affecting teams' point rankings and overall season trends, not only severely harming fans' viewing experience and league reputation but also causing巨大损失 to each club's annual investment of tens of millions yuan in real money.

The core观点 repeatedly emphasized by Zhai Zhihai is: VAR is not a "luxury" for the league but a "necessity" for ensuring fairness, and moreover, a ballast stone for stabilizing league investment confidence and guaranteeing the industry's良性发展. The value of VAR is never a锦上添花 technological display but a制度保障 safeguarding the fairness底线, a安全锁 for the league's sustainable development.

Zhai Zhihai呼吁 that relevant departments should重新评估 current promotion conditions,及时调整 advancement思路,尽快出台 a clear timetable and roadmap for full VAR coverage in the China League One,优先保障 the fair competition environment of the core secondary league. Simultaneously,持续加大 support for domestic refereeing technology,完善 personnel training and考核体系.

From NPC representatives'建言 to主管部门积极回应, from comprehensive突破 of technological bottlenecks to league reality强烈倒逼, fully implementing VAR in the China League One has become industry共识 and an必然选择. Zhai Zhihai stated that he will持续关注 the progress of VAR promotion and implementation in secondary leagues,积极推动 proposals into实际举措, using technology to守护公平底线, using rules to护航联赛发展, making the China League One truly a优质平台 for cultivating football talent, stabilizing investment confidence, and弘扬足球文化,筑牢 the most坚实的根基 for the长远发展 of Chinese football.