Football Video Support (VS), a simplified alternative to the video assistant referee (VAR) system, is to be used on a trial basis at the upcoming FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup™ in Colombia as FIFA continues to lead the use of technology to support referees. The decision, which followed a successful initial trial at the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™ in Zurich, Switzerland, in May, was confirmed ahead of the draw for the 24-team tournament which takes place from 31 August to 22 September.

While the VAR system has been adopted in over 200 individual competitions globally, spanning 65 member associations, FIFA has received numerous requests from member associations who want an alternative, cost-effective way to support match officials with technology. In response, it has developed the VS which, unlike VAR, does not use dedicated Video Match Officials and therefore does not automatically check all match-changing incidents. Instead, the onus falls on the two head coaches who will be allowed to make a limited number of review requests per match when they feel there has been a clear and obvious error in match-changing incidents such as goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty, direct red card or mistaken identity.

“Football Video Support is an answer to the request to provide football with a more affordable technology which might be implemented in competitions with a limited budget," said Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee. "VS and VAR can be used for the same kind of incidents but cannot be compared as they are designed for completely different scenarios. The outcome of the trial at the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup, involving 36 matches on two pitches, was very positive and we are happy to give this system a further trial in Colombia.”

For details on how it worked at the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup, please see this explainer:

Further details about the use of VS at the tournament in Colombia will be announced in due course.