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The AFC have confirmed the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be used from the quarter-final stage of the 2020 Asian Champions League.
This will be the first time the VAR has been introduced in the AFC’s club competitions.
The technology made its debut in Asian football at last year’s Asian Cup, when it was used for the quarter-finals of the tournament in the UAE.
The system was then successfully implemented across all 32 matches at the AFC U23 Championship in Thailand, earlier this year.
To further strengthen the AFC’s capabilities in the VAR System application in the Asian Champions League, a virtual AFC VAR Information Officer (VIO) Workshop will be organised on August 26 to ensure VIO’s are across all of the latest VAR developments.
The VAR system, which aims to provide minimum interference with maximum benefit, is limited to four game-changing decisions or incidents: a goal or no goal, penalty-kicks, direct red cards and mistaken identity decisions, AFC said.
Philip Panas is a sports journalist with Soccerscene.
He reports widely on football policy and industry matters, drawing on his knowledge and passion of the game.
Football Queensland have begun their state-wide celebration of Female Football Week, commemorating the game’s proud past, present and future.
The annual celebrations have heightened significance this year, in what is the centenary season of women’s football in Queensland.
“This year’s Female Football Week is a great opportunity to recognise and reflect on the extremely important role of women and girls in football’s past, present and especially its future,” FQ President Ben Richardson said.
“The incredibledigital history museumFQ launched last week gives us all insights into the remarkable story of the women’s game here in Queensland, which kicked off with the momentous first public match at the Gabba on 24 September 1921.
“We are proud to bring greater attention to the 100-year anniversary by widely releasing our centenary season logo, which is another example of FQ’s commitment to embracing the game’s history and diversity.”
The governing body will release a series of videos this week showcasing the stories of past, present and future Queensland and Australian footballing heroes.
The state’s first Matildas captain, Sue Monteath, will be featured in the opening video.
Football Queensland will also shine a light on several ‘Women’s Football Champions’ who have contributed to the game and helped provide girls with opportunities at a grassroots level.
“This initiative gets to the core of what Female Football Week is all about by recognising those who share FQ’s passion for delivering inclusive, high-quality participation opportunities,” FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci said.
“With the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 approaching, it is more important than ever that the community unites behind FQ’s message that women and girls are the future.
“We made that clear in theWomen and Girls Strategy 2021-2023that was presented to political, sporting and football leaders at Parliament House on Tuesday.
“FQ is driving progress towards unlocking Queensland’s FIFA Women’s Cup 2023 legacy and Female Football Week continues to make a strong contribution to that journey.”
Female Football Week will conclude on the 8th of March.
Football NSW’s Futsal Manager Jordan Guerreiro was excited about the introduction of the new elite competition, which will improve the quality of the small-sided game in the state.
“This is a fantastic opportunity in which our Futsal Players and our Futsal Clubs can now get involved all year round. The Winter Futsal competition is designed to create a middle ground between Grassroots Futsal and Elite Futsal in which Football NSW and the clubs can engage our Futsal players to have a quality competition,” he said.
“The Winter Futsal League I believe is an important beginning stage in the development of Futsal to be perceived as a sport that is played by our community all year round. This initiative also opens up an opportunity for these clubs involved to improve their club’s engagement with their players.
“As the State Governing Body of Futsal, we want to continue to improve our service of the game and continue to build our Futsal framework to develop a community of players. Football NSW would like to create a sustainable league and continue to develop and grow this competition to engage with more clubs to get involved.”
The six teams set to feature in the league are listed below.
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