GLT project agreements signed

The use of Goal Line Technology (GLT) at the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2012 - between 6 to 16 December – is just two steps away after the project agreements between FIFA and the GLT providers Hawk-Eye Innovations and Fraunhofer ISS (GoalRef) were signed today. The FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2012 will be played in the stadiums of Yokohama - where the magnetic field based system of GoalRef will be used - and in Toyota, where Hawk-Eye will install its camera-based technology. The next core phase in the pre-competition process is the installation tests which will be conducted once again by the Swiss independent test institute EMPA (the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology).The Local Organising Committee (LOC), and the two stadium owners facilitated inspection site visits by both GLT companies in September. The final installation test aims to establish the perfect functionality of the system by certifying that the technology performs to the same level once installed in a given stadium, as it did during the system test. Only once the systems pass the installation test, will FIFA give the ‘green light’ for the respective systems to be used in the eight matches of the competition, featuring the club champion from each of FIFA’s six confederations, and the domestic J-League champion. The final, intrinsic element in the implementation of GLT system is a pre-match check by the match-officials. The match officials are obliged to check the functionality of the GLT system by means of specific tests in both goals, ensuring the system is fully functioning before the first whistle blows. For more specific information on the Referees check, please refer to pages 37-39 of the FIFA Quality Programme for GLT Test Manual. Crucially, the referee will continue, in line with Law 5 of the Laws of the Game, to have full autonomy in making any final decision during the match, using GLT as an additional aid. FIFA