June 27, 2010, FIFA world cup, Germany vs England knockout match, England midfielder Frank Lampard took a shot from distance that hit the underside of the bar, bounced inside the goal, and then popped out. Before the referee could see, the ball was away from the goal line and the goal wasn’t awarded.
This incident realized the federation a need for technological advancement to prevent misjudgment in future.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup is in progress in Russia and we are witnessing Internet of Things (IoT) implementation in form of multiple revolutionary technologies like Goal Line Technology and Video Assistant Referee.
Data capture and analysis:
Capturing and analyzing data in football is not new, but the technological integration is. Back in the 1950’s a military man, Charles Reep, designed a system to record statistics of football player movements on pen and paper. But, it took him over three months just to analyze the data captured during 1958 World Cup final alone.
The introduction of video analysis in the 1990’s provided the ability to organize the data. and with IoT, the ability to integrate information from multiple data sources is taking live analysis to a whole new level.
FIFA 2018 smart world cup
- Goal-line technology – Used for the first time in world cup 2014 Goal-line technology consists of 14 high-speed video cameras faced towards the goal and the data collected by these cameras is further sent for analysis. The result is shown on a watch that the referee wears on his wrist. So, no more referring mistakes, touchline oversights or goal-line blunders.
- Advanced Security system – This world cup is using IoT enabled security systems to identify and prevent threats with the help of face recognition cameras, fingerprint recognition systems, and smart fire extinguishing systems.
- Power saving technologies – With extra crowded cities across the country it is important that energy consumption statistics are collected and displayed that enables the use of alternative sources of energy if required, to optimize the energy consumption.
- Improved service standards – A number of algorithms can calculate the wait time in a line and non-cash payment including pre-payment. And all of it is possible through IoT, so no waiting in ques for beer or burger.
IoT in Football – The Future
The power of data with the combination of in-memory technology analytics and beautiful mobile experiences allows coaches to better coach during the game. It allows scouts to better scout and it allows fans to have more enjoyable experiences. Learn from player’s mistakes by analyzing the information to prevent further mistakes.
As IoT is implemented in FIFA, it will take the soccer world to the next level. This technology will let you know:
- Player’s shot statistics – Shot speed, Shots on the goal, Successful passes out of total passes, Pass completion rates, Ball possession, Ball handling.
- Movement patterns – Total distance covered and Pace of the player.
- Dynamics – Fast accelerations and Hard decelerations
IoT in Football is the need of an hour for the football world. And in near future smart uniforms, sensors in football will be used to gather granular location data. Drones will deliver food and drink to audiences.
