FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers: Will there be VAR for January and February matches?

The eagerly awaited year of the World Cup has begun and soccer fans couldn't feel more excited about it. Qatar 2022 is just around the corner, but there's still a lot to be played for in the Qualifiers.

While the remaining berths for European teams will be decided in the UEFA playoffs, the Conmebol, Concacaf, and AFC competitions are heading to the final stretch of their respective campaigns.

All of their teams share the same goal: to qualify for the next World Cup. And they know that, if they do so, they'll have to be prepared for the use of VAR in that tournament, just like it happened in Russia 2018. Here, check out if these confederations have already implemented the video review in their tournaments.

Is there VAR in the Conmebol 2022 World Cup Qualifiers?

Conmebol decided to implement the Video Assistant Referee for the entire South American 2022 World Cup Qualifiers in a historic change for the competition as the confederation attempts to increase sporting justice. While FIFA takes care of the referee travel costs, Conmebol affords the price for the technology.

Is there VAR in the Concacaf 2022 World Cup Qualifiers?

Concacaf took its time to implement VAR in their tournaments as not every federation could meet the requirements to establish a video review system properly. However, VAR was implemented as a trial during the 2021 Concacaf Nations League Finals, the 2021 Gold Cup Final, and the 2021 Concachampions finals.

During that time, the organization trained referees and prepared venues to apply a certified video review. As a result, Concacaf announced that it's ready to implement VAR this year, starting with the upcoming World Cup Qualifying fixtures to be played in January and February.

Is there VAR in the AFC Asian 2022 World Cup Qualifiers?

The AFC has also worked for a long time taking the necessary steps to implement VAR in its competitions. After some trials in different events, the organization decided to start using Video Assistant Referee in the Final Round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers in September 2021.

"The VAR system, which aims to provide minimum interference with maximum benefit, is limited to four game-changing decisions or incidents, specifically - goal or no goal, penalty-kicks, direct red cards and mistaken identity decisions," the AFC statement read.