FIFA has declared that semi-automated offside technology will be utilized at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar beginning on November 21st, assigning a support tool for the video match authorities and the on-field officials to enable them to make faster, more accurate, and more reproducible offside judgments on the biggest stage of all.
Observing the successful use of VAR technology at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced in The Vision 2020-23 that FIFA would attempt to harness the full potential of technology in football and further enhance VAR.
The new technology utilizes 12 dedicated tracking cameras mounted underneath the ceiling of the stadium to trace the ball and up to 29 data points of every individual player, 50 times per second, computing their exact position on the ground.
The 29 obtained data points contain all limbs and extremities favorable for making offside calls. Al Rihla, Adidas official match ball for Qatar 2022, will contribute a further vital element for detecting close-offside incidents as an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor will be positioned inside the ball.
By incorporating the limb- and ball-tracking data and referring to artificial intelligence, the new technology delivers an automated offside signal to the video match officials inside the video operation room whenever the ball is received by a player who was in an offside position at the time the ball was played by a team-mate.
