The Fifa 2022 world cup in Qatar will likely be the most “high-tech” event in recent memory. This has led the football league’s governing body to make strides to ensure that the right decisions are made, players are supported, and spectators can enjoy the spectacle with the help of Technology.

With FIFA Finals around the weekend, we are excited to see who will take the trophy this year. With a Massive fan following for Players Like Messi and France taking the trophy home in 2018. It’s going to be an exciting one; fans across the globe witnessed to watch the match with enthusiasm in stadiums at bars and houses. But what really makes the viewership going is a reliable network, with massive traffic among various telecasted channels and platforms; people like to have every minute report on the go. Though televisions remain the main source of viewership, people also love to have access to telecast on their phones on the go. 

The FIFA World Cup in a Nutshell

Qatar world cup 2022 becomes the first 5G Powered World cup. With the help of OOredo, all stadiums will be covered by 5G network giving the best experience to spectators; ultimately, keeping up on social media is just as important for fans. This will also help many media partners to share the match updates. 

“We have spared no effort in preparing for this momentous occasion in Qatar’s sporting history and are more than ready to step up and show the world what we can do. Our strategy has long included investment in innovation and technology to ensure we can provide the best products and services to our customers and to ensure we are prepared for events such as this one. This investment is undeniably evident in our readiness to deliver an unrivalled experience to all attending Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022”- Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulla Al Thani, Deputy Group CEO and CEO of Ooredoo Qatar.

The transformation is not just limited to the 5G technology across the stadium but also the ball that has been used on the ground has sensors that will have real-time tracking mechanism with the help of AI that will monitor and capture positioning data combined with other IOT tools to fetch the most accurate reviews. It took 6 years for the development team to bring the idea to life before the world cup. Can you imagine this has been in planning even before the last world cup? 

What do we know about this device?- They are calling it a “semi-automated offside” program that relies on AI but also requires human approval for confirmation. The device is designed by a Germany-based company, KINEXON, specializing in sports technology. The device receives and translates the data immediately with each ball movement, providing real-time results.

FIFA Technology Innovation planning has been a long time coming to elevate the decision-making process, such as offside minimising the chances of human error making calls like that of side with precise observation. 

Video Assistant referee, ever heard of that? Sounds exciting. With the help of data that we referred to earlier to provide a better second opinion to avoid any controversy, these assistants will provide the decision based on observation and influenced by the data, making it a more validating decision. 

Now we all know that Qatar being a GCC, is still relatively hot even during December, but to ensure the temperatures are maintained with huge gatherings, stadiums have sensors that will regulate temperatures in the areas with a high number of people, not just restricted to the Fans comfort to keep up with their security about 15,000 cameras spread across the 8 stadiums that will monitor the visitor’s movement and facial technology to be used during finals to track the enthusiasm of the fans.

Last but not least, it comes back to where we started, predicting who will take the trophy this year now that we have covered a brief chunk about data being so essential. No wonder they are calling it the new Oil; with the help of data collection and algorithms, there have been predictions about the winning team based on historical data since 1872. While Brazil and Belgium are on the top as per the algorithm, the next place holders are Argentina & France; that might not be the most accurate, but a decently close prediction is seeing two out of the four in finals. 

With technology at its pinnacle and global event such as FIFA, how reliable are these AI-driven data results? An event such as a massive will have to go through several levels of approvals before it can be implemented. Before the actual implementation, there have been drills, and tests run permutation & combination of hypothetical and live settings. 

Finalising Thoughts

This is just a starting point for technological advancement; two names that have made this possible are OOredo & KINEXON, and there are many more R&D departments specialising in the field of Data Science for Sports striving for innovation that will solve every possible problem that exists in the sports industry.