Following the successful implementation of VAR in the 2021 Concacaf Nations League Finals, the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, and the latter stages of the 2021 Concacaf Champions League, the Confederation has confirmed that it will implement the technology in several of its men’s and women’s competitions throughout 2022.
Concacaf has been working for the past three years towards introducing VAR in its competitions with multiple training and development opportunities for elite referees in our region. Despite the challenges caused by the public health situation, which delayed the progress in this area considerably due to leagues, competitions, and physical training camps being suspended for significant periods of time, Concacaf, with the support of its Member Associations, has been working to organize certification courses to fully implement VAR in its competitions. As part of this process, in May of 2021, Concacaf hosted an elite VAR course in Costa Rica for referees from across the region. This course included 40 competitive matches played solely for the purposes of VAR training and development. For 2022, Concacaf can now confirm it has a large enough pool of VAR qualified referees, and VAR certified venues, which provide the Confederation with the resources to further implement the technology in men’s and women's tournaments taking place during the year:
- Concacaf’s Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 (January and March 2022)
- 2022 Concacaf Men’s U-20 Championship
- 2022 Concacaf Champions League
- 2022 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship
- 2022 Concacaf Women’s Championship
Source: Concacaf
