Tag: football

Tech Meets Sports : How Technology is Shaping the Future of Football

With the invention of television, tech changed the way we interacted with sports. Now, almost a century later, technology still strongly influences the way we watch, train for and play sports. These days, advanced fitness technology has been infiltrating professional sports, giving coaches and players detailed insights on how their bodies work and what they need to excel at, on the field. Taking it to a whole new level, with apps like Ubersense which provide real time video analysis and feedback on smartphones.

Soccer being the most beloved sport in the world surely gets the most advanced treatment when it comes to tech. Earlier this year the smartphone manufacturer HTC and the “futurologist” Dr Ian Pearson collaborated on a document titled The Future of Football. In the next few decades, robot football could become common, shirts might come with tiny cameras and fans could end up controlling players with smartphones. It all sounds a little strange, yes, and from a rather distant future but recently we have witnessed many changes in the football scenario that have been fuelled by tech.

Lets see how technology has taken soccer to a new level, promoting both player performance and comfort.

Real Time Performance Analysis

With the advancement in technology, many developers have come up with sophisticated apps and softwares which can analyze players performance in real time. Such apps including UberSense, V1sports and many more saves the coaches and players the tiresome task of collecting data on a number of laptops, charts and spreadsheets to keep videos and stats of the players. Wearable technology has also made training easy as players are now getting the help of fitness devices to get an edge on their competition. Devices like Adidas, miCoach, Speed_Cell and various heart rate monitors lets coaches analyse various parameters important in the game. For example, the Speed_Cell clips on to shoelaces or adidas shoes and measures maximum speed, distance, stride rate and game time. Coaches then take that data and analyse it to find ways to improve each player’s performance.

Wearable tech

Wearable tech in sports isn’t limited to fitness trackers anymore. Even the uniforms of soccer players have got a tech makeover. There are high-tech shirts with sensors that track information and promote player comfort during matches. In the 2014 world cup tournament, players wore shirts that were fit for the warm, humid conditions in Brazil, allowing players to keep cool and dry during the game, affecting overall stamina and performance.

Protective gears also make use of technology to ensure the safety of players. Most notably; cleats, shin guards, athletic taping and compression-fit fabric work to micro-massage players’ muscles to prevent excessive vibration and promote muscle health and energy supply. Sensors in shin guards allow players and coaches to collect data and analyse performance, too.

High Tech Soccer Balls

One of the most important highlights of this year’s world cup was the inclusion of the GoalControl technology in the soccer balls. Also called the Goal-line tech, it helps referees to determine whether the ball has completely crossed the goal line or not. Also, there are balls that measure impact and trajectory. Equipped with internal sensors, the ball sends feedback to its compatible app via Bluetooth technology. This data can help players improve their game.

Sideline viewing system

This is latest development in the field of NFL. Sideline viewing system hasn’t been used in Soccer as of now but the application of this system, which uses Microsoft’s Surface Pro, is much more practical for the soccer field. It allows NFL teams to review photos of plays instantly on the sidelines and up in the booths. For example, when the quarterback goes back to the bench, the Surface can then be used to see the opposing team’s defensive formation during the most recent drive and the same goes for the coaching staff that keeps an eye on the game from higher grounds. Even though the whole campaign was to promote Surface Pro, the application of this system is very beneficial on field for both players and coaches.

May 17, 2015
Skullcandy Launches a New Series for Football Fans in India
The highly recognized audio brand has launched a new set of headphones for Football lovers who are currently losing it over the World Cup. They’ve created headphone assortments for three national teams heading to Brazil– England (FA), Germany (DFB) and France (FFF). The range of Hesh 2, Ink’d and Uprock headsets, complete with iconic federation logos and patriotic national colours was launched at selected retailers in India on 16th June, 2014.

The Utah-based company also made another major announcement – Thiago Silva has been chosen as their first ever football brand ambassador. Silva is the captain of the Brazilian national team and has led Brazil to its third consecutive FIFA Confederations Cup title recently.

The newly launched series is now available in Indian stores. As mentioned earlier, there are three headsets involved in this new Skullcandy Football World Cup Series and their features include:
1. UPROCK
These extremely comfortable headset is encased with plush ear pillows and has a soft-touch finish. Its name is based on an urban dance and it truly enables us to incorporate music in our daily routine. It consists of twin 40 mm drivers and tangle-proof flat cables. It also consists of mixed material so it can withstand intense pressure and prevents any damage. These are priced at Rs 2,899
1. HESH 2:
These have conical over-ear housing drives which give a really powerful sound. It has features which enables you to switch track and also has a built-in microphone for making and receiving calls. Its cable is detachable which helps you to move around and the soft leather touch ear pillows are there for the acoustics as well as to fit your ear perfectly for convenience. Hesh 2 are slightly expensive, they are priced at Rs 5,299.
1. INK’D 2:
These earphones have a supreme sound which delivers an attacking Bass, natural vocals and precision highs. These are the only in-ear headphones of the series with different sized ear buds which you can keep changing according to your needs. It also has a flattened cable for enhancing its visual appeal. The most inexpensive of the lot, these are available for Rs 1,549
June 19, 2014
New Goal-Line Technology Puts an End to ‘Ghost Goals’

In 1966, German fans were furious when the controversial right-foot shot by British soccer legend Geoff Hurst was awarded to England. At the time, there was no way to tell if the ball had crossed the line or not. There are so many others called the ‘Ghost Goals’. FIFA has acknowledged these blunders and this year they’re introducing computerized help to aid officials at this year’s World Cup.

Brazil will be the opening World Cup tournament to include an automated goal-line technology checking system, in a sense, a double-checking device that would help end the ‘was it or was it not a goal’ controversies that disrupt matches and cast doubt into the minds of fans.

It is by far the biggest innovation at this year’s World Cup. The introduction of goal-line technology will let the referee know whether a ball has entirely crossed the line or not. In the last two years, the technology has been steadily introduced in various leagues, mainly in Europe.

A German company GoalControl will be testing and introducing this technology in each of Brazil’s 12 World Cup stadiums with its seven cameras stretched around the ground, alert on each goal post, taking 500 pictures every second.

When a player boots a goal, the referee will be able to check his or her smartwatch to see whether ‘Goal’ has flashed up on the screen, which will hopefully put an end to ‘Ghost goals’ and some of the most controversial moments in the game.

This World Cup 2014 will the most tech-savvy event in the history of football. Sony, contributing to this spree, has installed 65-inch screens in and around Brazil’s most popular cities, which will broadcast the events in 4K on giant screens.

June 12, 2014
Top 5 Apps To Keep Up With The FIFA World Cup

Friday, June 6, 2014 is going to mark the start of the the 20th FIFA World Cup 2014. The world has been in a frenzy, counting down days to its start. With the tournament coming to an end on 7th July. It’s going to be an entire month of madness. That and, 32 teams and 3 matches a day during the world cup is lot of news to keep track of. But as always, smartphones make our lives easier.

There are loads of apps this time to keep track of the news, matches, conferences and what not. So, we thought we would test a few of the applications to try to find the best World Cup application and save you the bother. Here are the ones that deserved a mention:

Onefootball Brasil

Onefootball Brasil is our pick for the best World Cup app for a number of reasons.The app’s game pages are second to none. You can get notifications for goals as well as check line-ups, see live match data and chat with other fans while watching the game in real-time. The app also has sections where you can read related tweets, watch videos and see live tables and standings.

Brazil 2014 Countdown

Can’t pass the time while waiting for the World Cup to start? Are you counting the days until the first match? How about the minutes? Well, if you crave to really get keyed up for the event, this free app provides a running countdown until the World Cup begins—down to the last second.

ESPN FC Soccer & World Cup

The official football app from ESPN offers the in-depth coverage “the worldwide leader in sports” is known for. The app features live video highlights of key plays, feedback and breakdown from ESPN’s team of top analysts and commentators, and breaking news. Also, even after the World Cup has ended, this free app can help you keep up on the action in the English Premiere League, La Liga, MLS, the Bundesliga, and much more.

Official FIFA app

FIFA’s official app is a upright effort with a satisfying design. It doesn’t offer as many features as the other apps mentioned, and is somewhat slow to load and navigate, even on WiFi. Available in five languages, the FIFA app does however include news from the FIFA site, a match centre and a table of the official FIFA country rankings. The FIFA app also has video and photo sections, but at present there are only two videos, and the photo section loads a blank page.

365Scores

It is an unofficial app offering scores, news, tweets, and standings information. 365Scores has good squad listings and photos for each of the teams at the tournament in great design and format. If you are going to Brazil to fulfill your World cup dream, this is one must-have app on your smartphone. 365Scores also provides you with stadium guides, displays a map of Brazil where you can click on each stadium to get information about each stadium and the matches to be held there.

June 6, 2014
FIFA 14 Now Available for Free on Android and iOS

FIFA 14 comes up with over 16,000 athletes playing for 600 teams within 34 stadiums spread across 33 leagues.

The game will be available on app store and Google play store free of cost, with EA hoping to bring in revenue by way of in-app purchases, which includes Ultimate Team points or even for the unlocking of additional game modes. The game not only includes currency that lets you spend cash to save time, but there are three modes (Manager, Tournament, and Kick Off) that are only available after a paid upgrade.

While the company claims that this game has high quality graphics, the file size of this game in play store is 1.35 GB and in the app store the file size is 1.17 GB. FIFA 14 is playable in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Dutch, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese.

September 24, 2013