Football Video Support (FVS), an accessible and cost-effective video replay system for key refereeing decisions, is rapidly gaining traction across the global game.
Following the decision at The International Football Association Board’s 139th Annual General Meeting, FVS trials have been extended to non-FIFA competitions.
This approval opened the door for Member Associations to adopt solutions shortlisted through the FIFA Innovation Challenge.
Multiple technology providers – many with FIFA Quality Programme experience – submitted systems that were assessed and demonstrated live to match officials, leagues, and governing bodies.
What began as a FIFA Innovation Challenge, driven by FIFA Refereeing leadership, has now evolved into a practical solution already being adopted by a range of leagues, with many more national associations preparing to implement the technology.
In August, Italy’s Serie C (men’s third division), Spain’s Liga F (women’s top flight), and Primera Federación (men’s third tier) became the first competitions to roll out FVS full-time.
This marks the next phase of trials, making affordable, scalable video support available across various levels of the game. Some 200 matches have already been played using FVS in Serie C, and a trial will begin this weekend in the Italian women’s Serie A (top tier).
FVS is also being introduced in Brazil, with trials under way in the Copa Paulista (São Paulo state cup) and the women’s national cup, the Copa do Brasil Feminina.
“FVS is a tool to support referees in competitions with fewer resources and cameras. It should not be seen as VAR or as a modified version of it, as it does not include video match officials monitoring every incident. We’re very encouraged by the initial results and look forward to helping our Member Associations benefit from this technology,” said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.
Only a team’s head coach (or, in their absence, the senior official present in the technical area) may request a review, which must be made immediately after the incident by twirling a finger in the air and presenting a review request card to the fourth official. Players may ask their head coach to make a review request.
The system is used only for possible clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents in scenarios such as goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty, or direct red cards (not second cautions).
On the international stage, FIFA continues to showcase FVS at youth tournaments. The system is being used throughout the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™, with the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025™ also expected to include trials. Later in the year, FVS will be implemented at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2025™ in Qatar, providing additional opportunities to gather insights on supporting referees in international youth competitions.
Momentum continues to build. Several FIFA Member Associations are preparing to participate in trials later this year or early next year, and around ten others are developing implementation plans.
FIFA actively collaborates with Member Associations to evaluate experiences from trials and analyze collected data.
FIFA’s core goal with FVS is clear: to democratize football by making video review technology accessible not only for elite competitions with substantial resources but also for leagues and associations that cannot afford a full VAR setup.
With lower infrastructure costs and simplified operations, FVS is not a replacement for VAR but empowers referees with critical decision-making support, ensuring fairness and accuracy are achievable for competitions of all sizes.
