The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will make its debut in the age-group competition at the next FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022, which is slated to be held in India, the world football governing body stated on Tuesday.

From October 11 to 30, the famous competition will be held in Bhubaneswar, Goa, and Navi Mumbai.

“The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will give us important and significant insights into the qualities of the match officials who have been appointed. We are very happy that also for the first time, VAR technology will be used at a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup,” said FIFA’s Head of Women Refereeing Kari Seitz, in a statement.

“This event will be another great opportunity to showcase the skills of the appointed VARs and continue the development of our female VARs as part of the Road to Australia/New Zealand 2023 project,” she added.

Notably, this will be the second occasion in India for the deployment of VAR technology; the first occurred during the quarterfinal round of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which the nation hosted in January and February of this year.

In the meantime, the FIFA Referees Committee made official announcements about the lists of match officials who would work the next competition. The matches will be overseen by a total of 14 female referees, 28 female assistant referees, three support referees, and 16 video match officials.

“We are delighted that the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is returning after a four-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are really looking forward to this important competition in India taking place in October. For the match officials, of course, it’s another big stage in the preparation of the potential candidates for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023,” said the chairman of the FIFA’s Referees Committee Pierluigi Collina.

“As already mentioned on several occasions and following appointments of referees for other FIFA competitions, we’ve always worked aiming for uniformity and consistency in decision-making. We are convinced that the appointed match officials can gain useful experience with a view to the biggest women’s football competition in the world, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand next year,” he added.

(Picture Credits – IANS)