Will the 2019 Women’s World Cup use VAR? That’s the question on the minds of the countless players and coaches preparing for this summer’s tournament.
About four months away from the start of the competition, FIFA has yet to confirm whether VAR will be in use at the Women’s World Cup.
But it’s not time to panic just yet, for a couple reasons.
In many ways, the Women’s World Cup is a lot like its male counterpart. In many ways, it isn’t. So with the tournament set to arrive this summer in France, we thought we’d explain how the Women's World Cup works in 2019.
The men’s World Cup has been around since 1930, but the women’s World Cup didn’t start until 1991. The men’s World Cup has 32 teams, the women’s just 24. The U.S. sucks at the men’s World Cup; the U.S. dominates at the Women’s World Cup.
NWSL club Sky Blue FC has been down in the dumps recently due to poor working conditions for its professional athletes. It's so bad that newcomers that just achieved their lifelong dreams of playing professional soccer are refusing to sign with the team. Prior to being drafted, both draftees said they would not play for Sky Blue in hopes that manager Phil Murphy wouldn’t pick them.
The biggest sporting event of 2019 is the Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on June 7 in France. Unlike the players in the men’s version of the tournament, the Women's World Cup Players aren’t quite as recognizable, as they aren’t on TV every day of the week.
But they’re typically much more likable.
I hope you can kick these balls with some of the world's best players. Here's a brief guide to the balls used in some of the world's most popular leagues and how much they cost.
English Premier League: The Nike Merlin, at a cool $160. Looks and feels like a classic professional ball.
The USWNT is hard at work preparing to defend its World Cup title from four years ago. The players arrived for the first camp of the year in the first week of January, and their first match is Saturday against third-ranked France. Before the World Cup kicks off in June, the U.S. women will play 10 matches in 10 different cities.
The 2019 Women’s World Cup in France begins on June 7 with the hosts playing against South Korea at the Parc des Princes in Paris, and the tournament ends on July 7 with the final in Lyon. In between, FOX Sports, the U.S. broadcast rights-holder for the event, has promised to beef up coverage by announcing a collaboration with Twitter.
Well, 2018 was something, wasn’t it?
Soccer in 2018 had a thrilling World Cup in Russia and an engrossing Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign around the world. Real Madrid (again!) won the Champions League and Manchester City had a record year in the Prem. Atlanta United obliterated attendance records in the U.S. while the USMNT took more than 400 days to hire a coach. El Tri gave fans hope at the World Cup with a win over Germany, only to once again go out in the Round of 16.
The 2019 Women's World Cup schedule was set with the group draw on Dec. 8. The tournament will kick off on June 7 and run through the final on July 7.
The USWNT was given a fairly favorable group, but it’s not an easy draw given the knockout-round matchups.
The draw is in; the schedules are set. Now all you need to know is how to buy 2019 Women's World Cup tickets to take in all the action in France.
FIFA held the Women’s World Cup draw on Dec. 8 with plenty of pomp and ceremony. The USWNT was drawn into a fairly easy group, but that just means the knockout rounds will be particularly tough compared to other top teams.