Munich At the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, a chip in the ball is to provide video referees, coaches and media with data in real time for the first time. With the help of the new technology, for example, offside decisions should be made faster and more correctly, Fifa and Adidas announced on Friday. The chip system is combined with the data from a dozen tracking cameras under the hall roof.
The video referee system will be brought to a new level with the new technology in the ball “Al Rihla”, Adidas said. The networked ball will be used in all 64 World Cup matches. In the trade there will be the version of the ball with the chip but not to buy.
Big data has been coming into the sport for some time. For example, countless athletes in the professional leagues NFL and NBA already use the chips of the Munich start-up Kinexon, whose sensor technology is now also used in the World Cup ball. For example, the teams wear sensors in shirts that can transmit the data via ultra-wideband radio even indoors. The technology determines the position and movement of athletes with centimeter accuracy. Trainers can evaluate the data with a real-time analysis platform and use it for training; sports reporters for reporting.
A year ago, Kinexon and Fifa announced a partnership for live player tracking. Now the company has also been named the preferred partner for tracking the ball. The technology will open up a new era of football match analysis, said Kinexon MANAGER Maximilian Schmidt.
The World Cup in Qatar starts on November 21. Germany will face Spain, Japan and Costa Rica in the preliminary round. The tournament is controversial, among other things, because of the poor working conditions of guest workers at the golf.
