Ho Chi Minh City women's team will compete with a VAR-like system at the Asian tournament.

(NLDO) - AFC has just announced that the 2025-2026 Asian Women's Champions League will apply the FVS system - Football Video Support, a simpler and less expensive system than VAR.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has just announced that the 2025-2026 AFC Women's Champions League will apply the Football Video Support System (FVS) from the group stage, taking place from November 9 to 23, 2025.

Thus, the host club HCMC Women's Club in Group A will have FVS at Thong Nhat Stadium. This is considered a historical milestone, opening a new chapter in the development and elevation of Asian women's football.

In last season's final, Wuhan Jiangda Women's Club (China) and Melbourne City (Australia) were upgraded by the first application of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, creating the premise for FVS to be included in the AFC club tournament this year.

The FVS system is being applied by FIFA in youth and women's tournaments.

Following the implementation of VAR in the AFC’s three new men’s club competitions in the 2024-2025 season, FVS’s first appearance in the AFC Women’s Champions League marks another step forward, demonstrating AFC’s commitment to reducing refereeing errors and developing women’s football in the continent. This initiative is also part of FIFA’s extended testing phase for FVS technology.

In this year's Asian Women's Champions League season, participating teams will have the right to request up to 2 replays, and will have 1 additional request if the match goes into extra time.

This technology is only applied in situations of clear error or serious omission, specifically defined as: goals, penalties, direct red cards (not applicable to second yellow cards), cases of mistaken identity (when a player is cautioned or sent off instead of another teammate).

If, after review, the referee changes the original decision, the team still retains the right to appeal. Conversely, if the original decision is upheld, the appeal is lost.

In Group A, Coach Kim Chi's team will meet Stallion Laguna FC (Philippines runner-up), Lion City Sailors FC (Singaporean champions) and 2024-2025 Asian Women's Cup runner-up Melbourne City FC (Australian champions). The matches in Ho Chi Minh City will take place from November 13 to 19.

According to FIFA's explanation, FVS was developed to replace VAR due to many member federations lacking human resources, funding and limited number of cameras.

The VAR system requires 6-12 cameras, a control room and a VAR referee, while the FVS only uses 3-4 cameras/match, does not require a VAR referee, and allows each team to limit the number of review requests. The FVS is currently being tested by FIFA and its member associations mainly in youth and women's football tournaments.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nu-tp-hcm-se-thi-dau-voi-he-thong-giong-var-tai-giai-chau-a-19625092320475175.htm