With millions of followers across the world, football remained one of the world’s most popular sports. The sport has evolved throughout the years, and teams and players have found new ways to enhance their performance.
Technological advancements have played a significant role in how football is played and enjoyed. These technologies range from the use of AI to AR and VR to monitoring the players or collecting important data. Nowadays, many notable leagues and tournaments, including the upcoming 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, use advanced technology throughout their matches.
The rapid advancements of football-related technologies are expected to improve the football experience in the upcoming years. This article will explore several of the latest technologies that are applied in the football industry.
Physical Activity Monitoring
One of the most popular uses of technology in football is the tracking of players’ physical activity. The technology gathers information on the players’ physical activity during practice and games through wearable tracking devices and GPS. As a result, trainers and experts can gather and evaluate player data to identify each player’s strengths and weaknesses and create customised training for them.
For example, STATSports, which has clients like Liverpool FC and Arsenal FC, allows coaches to track players’ data in real time throughout training sessions. The data includes a variety of metrics, including accelerations and decelerations, average pace and heart rate, and maximum speed exposures. Furthermore, staff can set specific goals for individual players to increase workout efficiency and potential for growth.
Injury Prevention
As the name implies, injury prevention technology can help prevent injuries and speed up players’ recovery. The gathered data can be used to spot activity patterns that may be harmful to the players’ health and help coaches modify training and workload.
It can also be used to assess players’ physical condition following an injury and create individualised recovery plans. For example, Orreco’s Motion Data Collective solution can determine players who have almost reached their limit and are likely getting close to facing injury. This is done by using machine learning algorithms.
Semi-Automated Offside Technology
With its debut at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the technology uses 12 cameras placed throughout the field to precisely determine in real-time whether offside has occurred. At 50 frames per second, these cameras monitor various data points on the ball and every player.
In addition, the technology determines every player’s precise location on the field using a signal from a sensor inside the ball. After receiving this information, the video match officials can send it on to the central referee.
According to reports, UEFA will integrate connected technology into the Adidas FUSSBALLLIEBE ball for EURO 2024 to enhance the accuracy of the semi-automated offside technology and give additional tracking data for the players.
Goal-Line Technology
This technology has been a staple in the football industry throughout the years. Generally, goal-line technology enables one to quickly determine whether the ball has crossed the goal line.
As the technology indicates whether the ball has completely crossed the line, the information is sent in less than a second to the referee, which ensures an immediate response. The system makes use of 14 high-speed cameras that are positioned under the roof or the stadium’s catwalk. The data gained from these cameras is converted to a 3D animation displayed for the fans on TV and the enormous screen inside the stadium.
Social Media Protection Service (SMPS)
Since players, managers, or fans often receive an increasing amount of racist and discriminatory abuse on social media, many clubs and organisations are exploring new technology to encourage positive experiences in their communities.
One example is SMPS, which was created and used by FIFA and FIFPro. The SMPS is able to search through over 20 million posts and comments across various social media platforms, verifying nearly 20,000 abusive, discriminatory, or threatening comments and posts. It then reports the posts and comments that are deemed offensive to the appropriate social media platform.
Additionally, players are provided with access to moderation software that would instantly remove offensive comments from their social media profiles. Almost 300,000 comments were hidden from the public view using this moderation software.