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SportsOffside Tracking, Goal-Line Tech and VAR
Twenty flashcards on the officiating technology FIFA already uses at World Cups: tracking cameras, sensor balls, goal-line systems, VAR and referee cams.
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20 cards
- What is semi-automated offside technology (SAOT)?
- A support tool that helps video and on-field officials make faster, more accurate offside calls.
- SAOT at Qatar 2022: cameras and data?
- 12 tracking cameras under the roof follow the ball and up to 29 points per player, 50 times a second.
- What sensor is inside the ball?
- An inertial measurement unit at its center, sending data 500 times a second to find the exact kick point.
- World Cup ball that carried that sensor in 2022?
- Al Rihla, the adidas match ball for Qatar 2022.
- Where was SAOT trialled live before Qatar?
- At the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 and the FIFA Club World Cup 2021.
- What do the video officials still check by hand?
- The automatic kick point and offside line, within seconds, before telling the referee.
- Where does the system draw the offside line?
- At the second-last defender's closest body part that can legally score, or at the ball if it is nearer the goal line.
- Who owns the tracking and ball data?
- FIFA is the sole owner.
- What do fans see after an offside decision?
- A 3D animation built from the same data, on stadium screens and broadcasts.
- Which other World Cup used SAOT with a sensor ball?
- The FIFA Women's World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.
- Where were referee body cameras first used?
- At the FIFA Club World Cup 2025; for 2026 the footage was stabilized to cut motion blur.
- What does goal-line technology decide, and how fast?
- Whether the whole ball crossed the line; the signal reaches the officials' watches within one second.
- Two kinds of licensed goal-line systems?
- Camera-based (seven cameras per goal) and magnetic-field systems with cables under the pitch.
- Goal-line setup at Qatar 2022?
- 14 high-speed cameras on the catwalk or under the roof; in use since 2014.
- How is goal-line technology checked?
- Independent test institutes test each stadium; the referee checks it before every match.
- Does goal-line technology use the ball sensor?
- No: it relies only on its 14 high-speed cameras.
- The four match-changing situations VAR reviews?
- Goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards and mistaken identity.
- VAR at Qatar 2022: team and cameras?
- A VAR and three assistants in one room in Doha, with 42 broadcast cameras: 8 super slow-motion and 4 ultra slow-motion.
- What is new in advanced SAOT at the 2026 World Cup?
- Clear positional offsides go straight to the on-pitch officials, and every player is 3D-scanned.
- Tracking scale at the 2026 World Cup?
- 16 optical tracking cameras in each of 16 stadiums, over 150 million data points per match.
Official sources
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