Jul 14

Jul 14 The Use of Technology in Football: From the Ball to VAR

The Use of Technology in Football: From Hawk-Eye to Goal-Line Technology, and Video-Assistant Referee to Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems.

Advances in technology are made every day and one of the biggest consumers of this tech is professional sports, including football.

However, due to the abundance of football leagues and continental cups, not all matches use the same types of technology due to the preference of associations, money and of course, politics/.

However, nine times out of ten, technology has proven to be extremely helpful and has assisted match officials in making the right calls. Albeit not always the most popular one.

Whether you call it football or soccer, the thrills and the excitement of this beautiful and mesmerising game unite fans all around the world. And a couple of years back, we still remember the tech in play at the 2018 FIFA World Cup was nearly as astonishing as the completion itself.

We all know technology can create controversy and contention in a sport that is already loaded with passionate fans, and for a couple of years, a new video assistant referee (VAR) has been among the most loved and hated of the new technology in football.

"One of the benefits of technology at these large-scale sports or global events is that it can introduce ideas or innovation that otherwise might be missed by seasonal leagues. The budgets for global events are large and the stakes are even higher," said Mike Guiffre, senior vice president of SuiteHop.

In this article, we will scrutinise how the technology in football- from the football itself to Hawk-Eye, and from Goal Line Tech to VAR- has shaped to make the gameplay more efficient.

The Ball Itself: The Origin of the Football:

The earliest known ball was said to have been used by and made by the Chinese in 250 BC.

The Chinese would have used an inflated animal bladder to make a ball which later was covered in leather for added strength and uniformity.

Goodyear invents the first rubber bladder ball

In 1833 Charles Goodyear patented vulcanised rubber, which was a potentially massive advancement in ball technology as before people would have depended on the size and shape of the animal's bladder.

In 1855 Goodyear then invented the first football with a rubber bladder in the USA. The rubber bladder meant ball sizes and shapes were accurate and the game was much fairer.

The football has uncomplicated principles but has had many technological advances over the last century.

As discussed above, the original balls were made out of an inflated pig's bladder later to be covered in leather and relatively the same design is used today, but without the pig involved!

The Modern Football

A modern ball is an inflated spherical piece of rubber with an air valve covered in various materials of the manufacturer's choice.

The ball is kicked throughout the whole game of football, and because the ball is inflated it makes the ball softer, lighter, and more durable than the older ones- and allows the player to kick with strength without injuring themselves.

Major manufacturers of footballs include Adidas and Nike. Nike currently supplies the official ball of the Premier League which is called the Nike Flight, which succeeded the Nike Merlin back in the 2020/21 season.

Smart Ball System:

A promising prospect has been a "smart ball" embedded with a sensor (NFC chip), jointly developed by German corporations Cairos Technologies and Adidas.

The technology uses a network of receivers around the field designed to track the ball's precise position in real-time- including exactly when it has fully passed the goal line with extreme accuracy.

This will also notify the match officials exactly when the ball has crossed the goal line and the information will be available on a smartwatch receiver that’s worn by the referee.

All the official match balls are used across European Leagues, MLS, and other American Leagues. Most of the African Leagues are smart balls.

Footballs like Brazuca (2014 FWC), Telstar (2018 FWC), Uniforia (Euros 2020), and Nike Strike (Copa America 2020) are all of smart ball origin.

Goal-Line Technology (GLT):

Figuring out whether it's a goal or a near-miss is an important part of the referee’s job.

Goal-Line Technology debuted in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and it was also an important part of the tech used a couple of years ago in Russia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

With Goal-Line Technology (GLT), 14 cameras capture up to 500 frames per second and send the image to an image processing system. The 3D coordinates of the ball are monitored, and when the entire ball crosses the goal line the camera captures it and sends a signal to the referee's watch.

GoalControl is still providing the technology throughout significant football competitions around the globe, as it did in Brazil.

The following principles are required for a successful goal-line system:

The technology should only apply to goal-line decisions
The system must be 100% accurate
The signal sent to the referee must be instantaneous
The signal is only communicated to the match officials
Smart Ball system

Goal Ref System:

The Goal Ref goal detection system has been developed by the company Fraunhofer IIS.

This system is a radio-based system, which uses low-frequency magnetic fields to determine whether or not the whole ball has passed over the goal line.

There are two magnetic fields- one in the goal area, which uses coils attached to the goal, and the other is created in and around the ball using a passive electronic circuit embedded in the ball.

The data is processed then and transmitted to the referee’s wristwatch, and a message is displayed in real-time, in addition to a vibrating alert.

Hawk-Eye System:

This system was introduced by the UK company Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd in 2001 and it has had very successful trials. It is the front-runner of the systems currently in development.

Hawk-Eye has already been used to make calls in tennis and cricket. The Football version has been extensively trailed and has performed very well in the test environment.

The Hawk-Eye system uses three cameras focused on each goal line, and each takes footage at 600 frames a second.

Hawk-Eye can give a definitive decision on whether the ball has fully crossed the line, and relay this information in the form of an audible beep to the central referee within half a second.

As the Premier League referees use headsets, the signal is easily sent over to them. In other leagues, methods such as receiving the signal through a watch can be used.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR):

A new genre of video technology was used in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, called the Video Assistant Referee, to assist in officiating.

The idea was to catch errors that weren't caught earlier in the game. The VAR team supports the referees from a centralised video operations room at the international broadcast centre of the stadium.

One video assistant referee, three assistants, and four replay operators make up the group, which has access to all 33 camera feeds covering the matches, plus exclusive access to two special offside cameras. Two cameras are turned on the refs themselves, so their decision process will be public, according to CNET.

The tech is only used in situations where a call may have changed the result of a match. If a "clear and obvious error" has been made, the team communicates with the on-field refs and they can stop play at any time to consult with the VAR team.

Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems (EPTS):

Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems (EPTS), which include camera-based and wearable technologies, are used to control and improve player and team performance.

EPTS primarily track player and ball positions but can also be used in combination with microelectronic devices (such as accelerometers and gyroscopes) and heart-rate monitors, as well as other devices to measure load or physiological parameters.

These devices are used in combination with Micro Electrical Mechanical devices (such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and compasses) to provide inertial load and other medical information.

Each team has three EPTS devices. One is for an analyst in the stands, another for an analyst on the bench, and a third for the medical team. Optical tracking cameras are used to monitor the players and the ball, and provide feedback. It works with camera-based systems and wearable technology.

There are three forms of physical tracking devices available on the market:

Optical-based camera systems

Local positioning systems (LPS)

GPS/GNSS systems

Conclusion on the use of technology in football:

So what’s next for technology in football? Virtual and Augmented Reality have been hot topics of conversation- from holographic pitch additions to multi-sensory headsets for viewers and computer referee officials, the possibilities are endless.

With technology shifting at an alarming rate, it is only a matter of time before it is trialled to improve the world’s biggest and most celebrated sport.

However, it comes with its opposition and setbacks, and it can be difficult to incorporate on such a magnitude. Nonetheless, the coming decade will be exciting for footballers, teams, pundits, and fans alike.