FIFA Officials will Use AI Tech to Track Players’ Bodies for Offside Calls at 2022 World Cup
FIFA, the world’s governing body of football, has stated that in the 2022 World Cup, referees would use AI-powered cameras to decide who is offside.
The stadium roofs must be outfitted with 12 cameras that use machine learning to track 29 separate player body parts in order for the semi-automated system to work. The ball must also include a sensor that can send its position on the field 500 times per second.
Players will be automatically cautioned if they commit “offside offenses,” which occur when they have possession of the ball and are closer to the other team’s goal than their second-to-last opponent. The decision will be reviewed by officials in a nearby control room and communicated to the referees on the field.
As a direct consequence of this, FIFA asserts that decisions about offside will be made “fast” and “properly.” In order to “educate all spectators as clearly as possible” about the decision that was reached, computer-generated animations that are based on information from the cameras and the ball will be presented on the displays within the stadium as well as on television.
Technology is becoming an increasingly important resource for decision-making among authorities in the sports world. Referees may now utilize monitors on the sidelines to review their own calls thanks to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, which made its debut at the 2018 World Cup.
The referees and assistant referees are still in charge of making decisions on the field.
Commissioner Pierluigi Collina noted in a press release that the new system would help police make “faster and more accurate decisions,” but he stressed that humans, not “robots,” would still be in charge.
According to Collina, the expression “robot offside” is erroneous. The ultimate decision concerning the playing field is still made by the officials and assistance referees.
FIFA is happy with this effort and is looking forward to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will have semi-automated offside technology for the first time. This technology is the result of three years of hard research and testing to give the best experience possible for clubs, players, and fans.
The official Al Rihla ball has an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor that sends its location 500 times per second. a picture of FIFA
The first ever World Cup to be held in an Arab nation will take place in Qatar in 2022. The competition will take place in November and December rather than during the typical summer months since Qatar has such a high average temperature.
The stadiums in Qatar were reportedly constructed by migrant laborers who had their passports taken away and had their pay withheld, as reported by Human Rights Watch and The Guardian, among other organizations.
According to the findings of a research conducted in 2021, the number of migrant workers who have perished in Qatar since the country hosted the World Cup in 2010 might reach up to 6,500. The first day of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be November 21, and it will include a total of four matches.
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