PZPN

The Board of the Polish Football Association (PZPN) has decided that the creation and management of the modern VAR Centre will be the responsibility of Orange Polska, in cooperation with the global leader in VAR technology, Hawk-Eye Innovations, alongside Sony-Nevion and Riedel, who provide solutions that meet the highest FIFA and IFAB standards. In line with previous announcements, the facility was established in the newly developed section of the PZPN headquarters in Warsaw, and on Thursday, it was officially presented to media representatives.

"We are fulfilling one of the priority commitments of this term. This is a crucial step in the further professionalisation of competitions in Poland. The selection of these partners guarantees the highest technological standards, security, and reliability. We are convinced that the new VAR Centre will provide genuine support for match officials, enhance their working environment, and positively impact the transparency of on-pitch decisions," emphasises Cezary Kulesza, President of PZPN.

Work on the project began in early January and continued over the following months. Concurrently, new solutions were already being tested towards the end of the previous season to ensure the system would be fully operational for the start of the 2026/2027 campaign. On 1–2 May, the initial operational activities related to the launch of the VAR Centre were carried out. During the PKO BP Ekstraklasa match between Legia Warszawa and Widzew Łódź, the VAR system operated in standard mode, utilising a mobile VAR unit and maintaining full communication with the on-pitch team of match officials. Simultaneously, the match feed was transmitted to the new VAR Centre located at ul. Bitwy Warszawskiej 1920 r., where the system's performance was tested under match conditions, albeit without any communication with the on-pitch match officials. Further tests were also conducted during the STS Polish Cup Final, as well as during subsequent matches at the closing stages of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa season, allowing all procedures to be meticulously fine-tuned prior to the centre's full launch.

"We are taking modernisation at PZPN to an entirely new level. In fact, we have been developing the VAR project since 2017. An immense contribution to its implementation was made by Łukasz Wachowski, who today, as the PZPN General Secretary, is participating in another significant technological milestone. To date, PZPN has allocated approximately PLN 50 million to the VAR project. The VAR Centre itself cost around PLN 10 million. This demonstrates that, technologically, we are at the forefront in Europe, and as an association, we are consistently raising our standards," highlighted Adam Kaźmierczak, PZPN Vice-President for Organisational and Financial Affairs.

"We announced that Polish football needed its own modern, centralised VAR facility, fully connected to the stadiums. Today, we can say that this plan has been realised. I am delighted that such renowned partners are co-creating a new standard in match officiating technology in Poland," says Łukasz Wachowski, PZPN General Secretary.

The new VAR Centre is one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in Europe, representing yet another element in the modernisation of match officiating infrastructure and the elevation of the standard of football competitions in Poland. "The launch of the VAR Centre is a vital step in executing our strategy for the modernisation of Polish football. I can say with full conviction that we are acting in accordance with our previous declarations and consistently implementing an ambitious plan by commissioning a centralised, modern system to support the work of match officials. It is worth emphasising that the efficient execution of this investment was made possible because we had the appropriate space allocated in the modernised section of our headquarters at ul. Bitwy Warszawskiej," emphasised Łukasz Wachowski.

Technological partners play a pivotal role in the project's execution. Hawk-Eye Innovations, a global leader in VAR technology, provided the video analysis systems that support match officials, while Orange Polska is responsible for network operations and the infrastructure of the entire solution. The experience of both partners, gained in both international and domestic markets, guarantees the highest quality of the implemented technologies.

"We are extremely pleased that PZPN has placed its trust in us and our expertise. Data transmission plays a key role, as both match officials and supporters expect decisions to be made and communicated in real time, as quickly as possible. We face a significant challenge in ensuring the highest technical parameters and the reliability of the entire solution. It is a highly exciting project, and we are thrilled to be a part of it," added Agnieszka Kiełbicka, Sales and Business Development Director at Orange Polska.

Orange Polska has installed a modern, centralised VOR (Video Operation Room) model for PZPN, servicing PKO BP Ekstraklasa matches from a single, purpose-built operations centre located at the association's headquarters. Eighteen stadiums are connected to the system. The entire operation is supported by the Orange Data Center in Łazy near Warsaw, utilising redundant links with a bandwidth of 2×10 Gbps. The implemented solution ensures reliability and ultra-low latency that meets FIFA and IFAB requirements – for remote VAR systems, this equates to a latency of 50 milliseconds from the camera to the match official's screen in the VOR. This is the first implementation of its kind in Poland and one of the most advanced in Europe.