A third company has been licensed by Fifa to
provide goalline technology systems. The
German firm Cairos has had its system
approved by the world governing body and
will be able to tender for use in next year’s
World Cup and the Premier League.
The other two systems licensed are those
produced by Hawk-Eye, the British firm now
owned by Sony, and a German-Danish system
called GoalRef.
Cairos had been one of the first companies to come up with a goalline technology (GLT)
system with a microchip in the ball, a
collaboration with sportswear manufacturer
Adidas that was trialled unsuccessfully in
2005.
Its latest system is not linked to the sportswear firm and is similar to GoalRef’s in that it is based on magnetic fields where
sensors in the goal are activated when the ball crosses the line.
A statement from the company said: “Cairos
has met all of the requirements set out by Fifa for its goalline technology … which passed all of the test criteria, and was subsequently granted an official licence by Fifa for goalline technology.”
Last week Fifa committed itself to using
goalline technology at the 2014 World Cup in
Brazil, and is seeking tenders from companies for the Confederations Cup in June and next year’s finals.
Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, changed his
mind on the technology after Frank Lampard
had a clear goal disallowed against Germany
at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The Premier League plans to introduce
goalline technology next season. All systems
have to send a signal that a goal has been
scored to the referee’s wristwatch within one second.
Guardian.co.uk
