Innovations changing football

As of this writing, the 2014 FIFA World Cup round-of-16 has taken off with the Netherlands scoring a come-from-behind victory over luckless Mexico, 2-1. There was a short break going into the round-of-16 to allow all 16 teams to regroup, re-plot strategies, to re-energize bodies rendered tired and weary from both the strenuous games and the searing heat and humidity.

The temperature at Fortaleza at the start of the Netherlands-Mexico match soared to around 38.8 degrees centigrade or about 102 Fahrenheit.  Such a temperature reading prompted the use of the cooling break rule for the first time in FIFA World Cup history. This and other innovations made the 2014 edition of the World Cup truly fascinating and exceptional. An amazing 126 goals were scored during the eliminations.

Other innovations include the goal line technology which was introduced in the ongoing World Cup after the International Football Association Board (IFAB), officially approved its use on July 5, 2012, or almost two years ago. The technology was adopted by FIFA in the light of controversial calls made in high caliber leagues that date back to 2000, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

According to various official FIFA reports, goal line technology is used to determine whether the ball has crossed the goal line to indicate a goal has been scored. An electronic device helps determine whether the ball has crossed the goal line. The device helps the referee make a decision in awarding a goal, especially when players of both sides crowd the goal mouth and the referee’s view is obstructed by bodies shoving and jostling for position.

The second innovation is the use of water-based vanishing foam that disappears minutes after it is applied on the pitch. The foam is used to mark a 10-yard (nine meters) line separating the defending team from the attacking team that was given a free kick and mark where the free kick will be taken. Football officials say that the use of such a foam is “fair for the attacking team” whose offense was disrupted by a foul committed by the defending team.

The third new rule adopted is the three-minute cooling break. The break is given to both teams when extreme humidity and temperatures approach 40 degrees Centigrade or around 107 degrees Fahrenheit. The Netherlands-Mexico game became a test case for FIFA’s new cooling break rule – a chance to rehydrate, enjoy a cold towel and perhaps talk tactics, according to Radiotimes.com.  Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca called two three-minute breaks – in the 30th and 75th minutes- to allow the players (and himself and other game officials as well) to rehydrate.

The report of Radiotimes quoted comments of Twitter users who discussed the pros and cons of the decision. Was it necessary? Was it really just a coaching break? If players need a three-minute break in Brazil, how long will they need in the desert heat of Qatar in 2022? And if they can take a break to cool down, why can’t |FIFA spare a few seconds to look at contentious decisions too? One Neil Humphreys commented that “Qatar will have 90 minutes of water breaks with three minutes of football in each half.”

Perhaps in response to the use of the cooling break, the FIFA said, “Official and mandatory cooling breaks have not been established for the 64 games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, but instead they will considered on a match-by-match basis.” It appears that this particular innovation will trigger more comments on social media world-wide, from the serious to the silly and sarcastic.

The adoption of these technologies can largely be attributed to FIFA’s desire to make the matches more interesting and dynamic both inside the stadium and from the comfort of one’s living room while watching television. Credit for using such innovations for customer satisfaction, player safety and to reward good play and errant players belongs to the FIFA leadership headed by its president, Joseph “Sepp” Blatter.

Blatter is a 78-year old Swiss who was elected president in 1998, succeeding Brazil’s  Joao Havelange. According to his official resume’, Blatter is the eighth president of the Federation International de Football Association. He obtained his business and economics degree from the University of Lausanne in 1959. He was head of public relations of the Valaisan Tourist Board in Switzerland and was General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation.

In 1975, Blatter joined the FIFA as technical director, a post he held up to 1981. He then became FIFA’s General Secretary from 1991 to 1998. In that post, Blatter managed to establish a network that would serve him in good stead when he ran and won the presidency in 1998. Blatter was re-elected in 2002 and was once again re-elected in 2007.

In a recent interview during the 2014 World Cup, Blatter talked about a number of topics foremost of which were the technological innovations introduced. On the use of the vanishing foam, Blatter said that its adoption helps discipline players and gives a chance to the attacker to take his free kick from the legal distance of nine meters. On the use of goal line technology, Blatter stressed that the innovation helps both the public and television viewers and makes for fairer play.

Referring to the unrest triggered by Brazil’s hosting of the football festival amidst what a great number of Brazilians perceive as grave economic difficulties, Blatter emphasized that the matches took people out of the streets and into the stadiums and instead of protesting, the Brazilians are now cheering as one for their team.

The tournament ends July 14 (July 15 in the Philippines) and we look forward to more exciting and interesting matches.