W GOLD CUP
Is there VAR in the 2024 Women’s Gold Cup?
The Video Assistant Referee is here to stay in football, we continue to hear, but will it be playing its part in CONCACAF’s tournament?
The United States will host the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup in its latest form. Following the success of the men’s tournament, the North American confederation has fully embraced the creation of a tournament within its so-called ‘CONCACAFW’ as part of an initiative to invest in women’s tournaments. Mexico and Argentina will have the honor of kicking off a tournament that promises to be historic. But will there be off the pitch officiating support?
Women’s Gold Cup 2024: will there be VAR?
The Video Assistant Referee, aka VAR, is indeed planned to be present in the Women’s Gold Cup, both in the group stage and in the knockout rounds. During the preliminary phase of the playoffs, CONCACAF also implemented VAR for the matches between Haiti and Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Guatemala, and Guyana and the Dominican Republic. As we now know, it is the Puerto Ricans, Salvadorans, and Dominicans will be able to hear their anthems from 20 February onwards in the United States after coming through those encounters.
CONCACAF has already announced the identities of all the referees who will be present at the tournament, with eight VAR assistants coming from Canada, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, the United States, and Mexico. The group stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup will take place 20-28 February, where the winners of each group, the runners-up, and the two best third-placed teams will advance to the tournament’s quarter-finals. The final phase will start on 2 March with the quarter-finals, while the Final will be held on March 10 at Snapdragon Stadium.
Which CONMEBOL teams are playing at W Gold Cup 2024?
Like its male counterpart, the 2024 Women’s Gold Cup will feature four invited countries from Conmebol. The selection of the invitees was made based on the Women’s Copa America, with Brazil and Colombia as the champion and runner-up, respectively, with Argentina and Paraguay coming in third and fourth.