As preparations gear up for the start of IFAB-sanctioned experiments with video assistant referees (VARs), FIFA will play an important role in an educational workshop being held in New Jersey, USA, from 19-21 July.

The IFAB is organising the workshop in coordination with Major League Soccer (MLS) – one of a number of competitions across six countries already confirmed to take part in the two-year trial. It follows on from the kick-off workshop in the Netherlands in May, when interested competition organisers found out more about the requirements they need to meet in order to host experiments.

FIFA is supporting The IFAB with technological expertise and research around the VAR experiments and will be represented next week by FIFA’s Refereeing and Football Technology Innovation Departments.

Referee communication in “live” experiments will be a key focus, with practical demonstrations set to take place at Red Bull Arena, while the participants will also learn more about how they will need to educate the VARs and referees before any experiments can begin. To support this, FIFA has decided to set up a training centre in Zurich, Switzerland, in the coming months to educate selected referees for “offline” and “live” tests.

The workshop participants will receive updates on other meetings that The IFAB and FIFA are organising in connection with the project, such as the recent meeting of technology providers offering video replay systems in Zurich.

Full details on next week’s workshop are available on The IFAB’s website: www.theifab.com

Further information about VARs is available here. An FAQ document is available here.