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Post by rugbytoffee on Jun 23, 2022 18:22:55 GMT
Teams will be able to select up to 26 players for this year’s World Cup after global soccer’s governing body FIFA increased the maximum squad limit by three on Thursday.
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Post by rugbytoffee on Jul 1, 2022 8:41:23 GMT
Fifa has confirmed semi-automated, state-of-the-art technology will be used at the World Cup in Qatar to speed up the time taken to reach offside decisions.
In addition to a sensor in the middle of the ball, which sends data 500 times a second to determine the exact kick-point, 12 dedicated multi-tracking cameras that are "100% synchronised" will be mounted on the roof of each stadium to track the ball and 29 points on each player, sending data 50 times per second to calculate their exact position on the pitch.
Any player in an offside position will trigger an alert in the video assistant referee booth that can be relayed to the on-pitch referee.
The system was trialled at last year's Arab Cup and Club World Cup, where it was estimated to have reduced the time taken to make offside VAR decisions from 70 to 25 seconds.
"We are very positive. It is ready," said Fifa's head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina.
No robot referees It has been claimed the increased use of technology is rendering referees virtually impotent in terms of decision-making.
Collina, who was voted the world's best referee for six consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2003 and took charge of the 2002 World Cup final between Brazil and Germany, denies this is the case and says there will still be room for debate around decisions.
"I read about robot referees," he said. "I understand this is very good for headlines but it is not the case.
"The match officials are still involved in the decision-making process. The semi-automated technology only gives an answer when a player is in an offside position when they play the ball. The assessment of interfering with an opponent and seeing if a handball or foul was committed remains at the discretion of the referee.
"Our goal is to get referees taking decisions correctly on the field. If something wrong should happen, the referee may take advantage of the technology to get a better vision of what happened - but there will still be room for discussion."
You are either offside, or you're not Premier League pair Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver have been selected among the elite panel of referees who will gather in Qatar two weeks before the World Cup for final instructions.
While there has been debate about the time taken to determine offsides - especially what have been dubbed 'toenail decisions' - Collina does not view the new offside technology any differently to the systems used to determine whether a ball has crossed the line or not.
Famously, that did not work in the first game of the Premier League's Project Restart, when Hawk-Eye did not spot Aston Villa keeper Orjan Nyland had carried the ball into his own goal. Collina does not feel that is an issue.
"Technology works most of the time," he said. "That is one wrong decision I remember in thousands of correct ones.
"Goalline technology offers very high accuracy. If the ball crosses or doesn't cross the line by a few millimetres everyone is happy. It is the same with semi-automated technology. If the player is on or offside, the technology should be praised then as well.
"We cannot get it down to four or five seconds for a decision. That would be the wrong expectation. But we have come down from 70 seconds to 20 or 25. That is important. This system will be faster and more accurate."
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Post by rugbytoffee on Dec 16, 2022 17:54:52 GMT
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed that the intended format for the 2026 World Cup will be re-assessed and three-team groups potentially scrapped.
The expanded 2026 finals spread across the United States, Mexico and Canada will be the first World Cup to feature 48 competing nations.
The intention to expand the competition by 50% drew criticism, particularly over the increased number of games and the potential to dilute the quality.
The FIFA Council considered several proposed formats, including an expansion to 40 teams with eight groups of five, and an expansion to 40 teams with 10 groups of four. A 48-team tournament with an opening playoff round before the group stage was also on the table.
But the preferred format, voted for in January 2017, was a 48-team tournament with 16 groups of three. Concern has since been expressed over the increased for potential for collusion in such small groups, as had previously been seen at the World Cup in 1982.
But Infantino has now admitted things will be considered again.
“After this World Cup and the success of the groups of four, absolutely incredible, we have to re-discuss whether 16 groups of three or 12 groups of four are better,” he said. The format seen in the 2022 World Cup – eight groups of four, followed by a 16-team knockout bracket – has been the same since 1998, which was the first World Cup with 32 countries.
There had previously been 24 teams at the World Cups since 1982, with the same format currently used for the men’s European Championships that sees a handful of third-placed teams progress from the group stage in place from 1986 to 1994 inclusive.
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Post by rugbytoffee on Feb 14, 2023 17:10:37 GMT
The United States, Mexico and Canada will all automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Host nations of World Cup competitions have traditionally been given a place at the finals of World Cup tournaments but no edition of the tournament has ever been hosted by three nations.
The US, Mexico and Canada will share hosting duties for the 2026 edition of the tournament, and FIFA has now confirmed that all three will be given an automatic berth for the tournament.
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Post by jimmy on Feb 15, 2023 11:10:48 GMT
It's spread over a big area if all three are hosting.
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