Goal-line technology set to make its African debut

Goal-line technology (GLT) will make its debut appearance in Africa this week as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013 gets underway on 11 December. In October, GoalControl GmbH was selected for the tournament as part of a tender process after FIFA invited all
four FIFA-licenced GLT providers to submit a proposal. The Germany-based company has since conducted site inspections and installed its GoalControl-4D system in the two venues, Marrakech and
Agadir.

The systems at each stadium have successfully passed the final installation tests conducted by FIFA-accredited test institute SportsLabs, which are standard procedure as part of the official certification process defined in the GLT Testing Manual.

A referee training session was also held on Sunday, 8 December in Marrakech. Prior to the start of every game, the match officials will carry out their own tests, in line with the operational procedures first implemented at the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2012 and approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

Overall, since the introduction of GLT in July 2012, Africa will be the fourth continent to host an event in which the match officials are supported in their decision-making through the use of the technology.

It follows on from the successful implementation of GoalControl-4D during the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 in Brazil where the system met all the FIFA requirements and indicated every one of the 68 goals correctly. Importantly, there was also a high level of satisfaction reported by the match officials.
The GoalControl-4D system is equipped with 14 high-speed cameras that are mounted on the roof and located around the pitch, with seven cameras focusing on each goal mouth. If the ball crosses the goal line, the central processing unit automatically sends an encrypted radio signal to the referee’s watch in less than one second indicating a goal by vibration and a visual signa

Culled from www.fifa.com