Football has been infamously slow at embracing technology. However, football’s resistance to tech has weakened over the past few years, and rightly so. Perhaps the most notable aspect is FIFA’s increasing willingness to use technology, a fact manifest in this year’s World Cup. Here, we give you a glimpse of the technology being used at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Goal-line technology: Guarding against 1966-type debacles
Despite our familiarity with it, goal-line technology deserves a mention. The technology uses tracking cameras and circuits, built into footballs and goalposts, to determine a goal. 2014 World Cup saw the first-ever use of this tech at the grand stage, and FIFA’s been using it ever since. This year, as well, goal-line technology stands as the last line of defense against a 1966-type debacle.
The most high-profile tech addition to this year’s World Cup
The most high-profile tech addition to this year’s World Cup is, of course, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The use of VAR in the World Cup will allow the on-field referee to rely on verbal information from the VAR, or to inspect the video footage of an incident (goals, penalties, direct red cards, mistaken identities) on the sidelines before coming to a decision.
The EPTS allows real-time data analysis during a match
The 2018 FIFA World Cup is also using something called the Electronic Performance & Tracking Systems (EPTS). Using two optical tracking cameras, positional data about players and the ball is made available to analysts in real-time. This allows teams’ technical and medical analysts to directly provide real-time insights to the coaching and medical staff for decision-making during the game.