FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the governing body that determines the rules of soccer, are requesting producers of electronic performance and tracking systems (EPTS) to present their technologies in an effort to develop one standard for the sport that may ultimately be used in matches. These business presentations will occur during the FIFA and IFAB meetings on November 16.
During meetings earlier this year, IFAB approved the use of wearable EPTS. Those meetings, which occurred on February 28 as part of their 129th Annual Business Meeting, determined that the wearing of EPTS was legal under two stipulations. The first stipulation is that EPTS cannot be used during a real time soccer match until it has been proven to have preventative medical benefits. The second stipulation is that EPTS must be proven to not pose danger to any players on the field. Therefore, companies that are attempting to establish themselves as FIFA’s EPTS provider will have to prove that their technology has preventative medical benefits and will not pose danger to athletes.
This global standard for EPTS in soccer will have a lot of implications for the sports tech world. Many teams and players already use EPTS devices for training purposes to control and improve player performance. One of the leaders in EPTS, STATSports, already has several high-profile soccer clients using their devices including Manchester United, Arsenal, and FC Barcelona.
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Another company that sells their own EPTS, Catapult Sports, has high-profile soccer clients of their own including AC Milan, Seattle Sounders, United States Men’s National Team, and the United States Women’s National Team. Both companies could possibly vie for the the opportunity.
The IFAB has already received requests by teams to allow the wearing of EPTS devices during games. An IFAB ruling will likely have a domino effect on the other sports leagues and their governing bodies. But in order for sports leagues to keep athletes safe, and keep teams from gaining an unfair advantage during games, there will be a continued effort to regulate what technology is being used out on the field.
Soccer has been slowly adopting technology and developing rules to set industry standards for quality and reliability with the FIFA Quality Program introduced in 1996. IFAB and FIFA have worked together to put goal-line technology, soccer ball, and soccer turf quality standards in place. While soccer was once viewed as being behind with using new technologies, we may soon see soccer become the leader in technology adoption in major sports.