Hawkeye loses out on Fifa contract

GENEVA: Fifa surprisingly opted for GoalControl yesterday as its goal-line technology system before next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

The German camera-based ball-tracking system was the last of four contenders to join the race to win a Fifa contract that starts at the Confederations Cup in June.

Fifa chose GoalControl-4D over three rival projects: GoalRef and Cairos, which both use magnetic fields, and Hawk-Eye, another camera system which was considered the favourite.

It is already used in tennis and cricket, and its English parent company was bought by World Cup sponsor Sony before it began Fifa-endorsed testing in 2011.

GoalControl was licensed by Fifa only one month ago, and owner Dirk Broichhausen said then that its simplicity was the key.

“Our innovation, and also a difference looking to other competitors, is that we can use standard goals, balls and nets. There is no modification necessary,” Broichhausen said.

GoalControl uses 14 highspeed cameras – seven trained on each goalmouth – and passed Fifa-approved tests in February in German stadiums in Duesseldorf and Gelsenkirchen. All four systems met Fifa’s demand that a signal be transmitted to the referee’s watch within one second if a goal should be awarded.

Investment

“We want tournament organisers and leagues and clubs not to have to change anything on the pitch. The investment in the technology is enough,” Broichhausen said.

He estimated that GoalControl would cost 200 000 (R2.4 million) a stadium to install, and 3 000 a match to operate. Fifa said the cost of installation – at six scheduled Confederations Cup stadiums and 12 for the World Cup – was considered.

“The respective bids were also judged on cost and project management factors such as staffing and time schedules for installation,” football’s governing body said.

Fifa’s contract with GoalControl for the World Cup can be reviewed if there are problems at the 16-match Confederations Cup – or even before then.

“The use of GoalControl-4D in Brazil is subject to a final installation test at each stadium where the system will be installed,” Fifa said.

Fifa, through its rule-making panel known as Ifab, approved goal-line technology last July, when Hawk-Eye and GoalRef passed the rigorous testing process.

Those systems were tested at the Club World Cup in Japan in December, before Cairos and GoalControl had even been licensed. Fifa president Sepp Blatter has called for the use of goal-line technology in Brazil after England midfielder Frank Lampard had a clear goal disallowed against Germany at the 2010 World Cup. – Sapa-AP