How technology has helped shape the history of football

One of the greatest shows on earth is unfolding right now in South Africa. Only the lucky few can be part of the show in person and the rest of us around the world can only watch, from a great distance, on TV and follow online.

Football, like every other human endeavour, has been shaped not just by the human nature but also by developments in technology. This edition of the FIFA World Cup will go down in history as the first one where fans could watch it in high-definition and a few could even marvel at the 3D version available in some movie theatres.

Antoine Busuttil, the editor of MaltaFootball.com thinks that technology has definitely made the coverage of football matches better.

"The use of multiple cameras and advanced technology makes it possible for those watching from home to get an almost better feel than those present in the stadium. The atmosphere is relayed in the best way possible to the comfort of their home."

Internet coverage keeps getting better, according to Mr Busuttil.

"The coverage is every increasing on websites but not on TV because of problems related to TV rights, even though illegal online streaming is a reality. To make up for these restrictions the main websites produce 3D graphics to illustrate the goals that would have just been scored."

Football as we know it today traces its origins to the late 19th century and at the time newspapers and printed material were the first technology that sought to popularise the sport. However, real excitement could only be delivered through radio broadcasts starting in the 1920s. On January 22 1927 the first live radio broadcast of a football match was aired on the occasion of Arsenal vs. Sheffield United, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Though the rise of TV is mostly associated with the post-World War II period, the first TV broadcasts of football events started in 1937. The first major football match on TV was the 1938 English FA Cup final. Preston North End beat Huddersfield Town 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.

The first World Cup to end up on TV was the first edition after the war, held in Brazil in 1950. In the 1950s TV coverage of football increased slowly and the 1958 World Cup in Sweden was the first one to see worldwide coverage on TV. However technology did not yet allow live transmissions and in 1962 footage of the matches had to be flown out of Chile and distributed around the world.

The 1960s saw the creation of the slow motion replay, used and abused throughout the world in post-match TV shows. One of the first attempts was made in 1967, in Italy, on public TV RAI.

The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was the first to exploit satellite technology to send signals to Europe. It was also the first one to be aired in colour.

In the meantime the Maltese TV viewers had to content themselves with what MTV (Malta Television) and RAI had to offer. The first World Cup in colour for the Maltese was the 1982 edition in Spain.

But the 1980s were to introduce an important new technological element: computers. Personal computers were spreading and in 1982 the first football management game was released for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, opening the way for a stream of such football-based games. Tehkan World Cup, released in 1985, is considered the first World Cup game for computers.

The 1994 edition in the USA was the first one of the internet era, but it was limited to the USA as it was still to be launched in Malta the following year. This edition was also the first one to be watched over the cable TV service in Malta.

Indeed we have to wait until the 1998 edition in France to see internet having the first impact on the tournament in Malta. The main channel was TV but several sports programmes used internet live in the studio to get the latest information and keep in touch with fans through e-mail.

The following edition was to experience a more pronounced effect of communication technology. In 2002 in Korea-Japan the games were played at a time when it was morning in Malta, and those who could not follow the matches on TV used SMS to get the latest scores and updates on their mobile phones. It was also the first World Cup where a lucky few could watch matches on an LCD or a plasma TV set. Fast broadband internet access was also leaving its mark, as multimedia content was more readily available over the internet.

The 2006 edition in Germany was the first one to feel the effects of the so-called Web 2.0 or social networks. YouTube was coming of age and it was one of the fast growing websites existing just as the tournament kicked-off. Blogs were becoming mainstream and several bloggers became match and sports commentators. Internet access was also fast enough to allow live streaming of matches online.

The current edition of the World Cup in South Africa will be remembered for the fact that HD TV has come of age and the first 3D trial shows to selected audience were made. Matches in HD are available locally through Melita. It is also the first truly mobile edition, with owners of smartphones like the iPhone and Android-based handsets spoilt for choice on applications that help fans to follow the tournament.

Since 2005, social networks have developed so much that that have also taken Malta by storm. Facebook is the place of choice for most of the over 150,000 Maltese Facebook users to have their say and shower taunts on friends supporting other teams. Twitter is also creating a lot of buzz, with an estimated 150,000 World Cup related tweets per hour globally, a wave which is reportedly causing a congestion. Internet usage also hit record numbers on the opening day of the World Cup on Friday June 11.

Online betting has also taken off and betting companies in Britain are saying that this tournament will be the biggest-ever betting event in history.

Technology is not just used to bring the fun to people around the globe. There's also the hot issue of technology and rules, especially in determining a goal, with the best example being England's goal in the 1966 final against Germany, or shedding light on some incident, like Maradona's "hand of God" in Mexico 86 and Zidane's head-butt on Materazzi in Germany 2006.

"Many agree that technology should be introduced to minimise human error. But we have to keep in mind an important thing: are these technology-based aids going to be introduced at all football levels? Football is not just the World Cup or the Italian Serie A, English Premier League or the Champions League. There are several lower leagues and youth leagues and any changes should be adopted at all levels. Above all, football is always considered the 'beautiful game' because it has always been a simple game to play and follow," insists Mr Busuttil.