How technology is improving football

The World Cup is winding down. The final will be played this Sunday, gathering the attention of football (or soccer) fans across the world (and many others that just tune in every four years for a 90-minute showdown), in what will be the most tech-enabled match in the history of the sport. As we consider that over half a billion football fans are expected to tune in to the game, there’s never been a greater opportunity to showcase how tech can enhance the world’s most popular sport.

The History of Technology in the World Cup

Football is a relative late-comer to the use of tech to improve the sport. The use of GPS for players, for example, was only accepted in 2015, and football was also late to adopt the incorporation of video assistant referees (VARs) to support officials. In comparison, VARs have been used in hockey and rugby since the 1990s, and since 2006 tennis has used Hawk-Eye (a computer vision system that tracks a ball’s trajectory and can be used to determine if a ball has crossed an out-of-bounds or goal line). After that late start, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has incorporated technology as an ally to improve the entertainment value of the games in several ways.

This year’s World Cup has been showcasing another innovation: the offside line observed with the VAR no longer depends on the human eye, but rather on a system developed with artificial intelligence that detects the players’ positions and the exact moment in which they hit the ball. Teams of 12 cameras have been monitoring the actions, and each player has 29 data points – in addition to a sensor in the game ball – that sends data packets 500 times per second, according to FIFA. In a match with so much at stake, reducing the margin of human error is one way to improve the sport.

Technology has also been improving the players’ gameday experience and facilitating the coaches'?work. With numerous platforms that evaluate performance, FIFA itself proposed a new way to leverage them. FIFA processes 15,000 data points per game (more than 166 per minute), employs 25 data analysts per game, and uses a special tracking system to monitor the action. From the FIFA Player app, players can see all of their actions with the corresponding images as soon as the match is over.

Technology’s Benefits Beyond Players and Coaches

This use of technology also goes beyond the game, playing an important role, for example, in ensuring stadiums are good neighbors. Technology is being used to ensure the World Cup has a positive impact on local economies and does not affect the value of nearby properties. In fact, one of the most innovative examples of this is Stadium 974: built with containers, it can be dismantled once the Cup is over and infrastructure ceases.

Using technology to enhance the game day experience of fans has become one of the most important aspects of the sports industry. After the pandemic, many sports leagues are looking for new strategies and new ways to achieve more cohesive virtual and face-to-face experiences for fans. According to CNBC, VR headsets were one of the most popular gifts in the United States during the last holiday season. To take advantage of this new platform, the NBA sold seats for fans to follow the game from the comfort of their homes via their favorite VR headsets.

What’s Next in Digitally-Enabled Sports Experiences?

The Los Angeles Clippers will open its new Intuit Dome arena in 2024, and recruited Globant to generate technological solutions during the construction stage to ensure its new home provides fans with a frictionless experience in terms of access, entertainment, information, and comfort. Not to be outdone, the historic Camp Nou in Barcelona also sought to use technology to enhance the fan experience. Through the use of a digital twin, stadium officials are able to use big data and cloud computing to optimize operations and safety and reduce traffic jams in and around the stadium. The system improves mobility and the fan experience within the stadium and club facilities.

The world will have a World Cup champion on December 18. And while we still don't know if it will be Argentina or France, if any play-checking will be required with artificial intelligence, or who will be the “man of the match,” we do know that over 500 million people will witness how technology is playing an increasingly important role in the game.