How Technology Is Reshaping The Playing Field

Every devout football supporter (and every Italian) knows Byron Moreno, the infamous referee who disallowed an Italian golden goal, turned down a clear penalty claim and sent off Francesco Totti during the controversial 2002 World Cup match between South Korea and Italy. What if Moreno's questionable calls, which many reasoned the cause for Italy's elimination from the tournament, could have been avoided?

The 2018 World Cup was the first major soccer tournament to employ the use of Video Assistant Referee, technological support aimed at preventing some of the pain, despair, tears and heartache experienced by football fans whenever a referee makes a bad call. But VAR is just one example of a technology advancement that has transformed the way sports are played and analysed.

Recent WSJ's Future of Everything podcast focuses on the intersection of technology and sports and looks at "how science and tech are augmenting athletics and how the lessons learned could benefit life beyond the playing field." During the 18-minute show, host Jennifer Strong digs through a plethora of innovations, such as automated umpires, robotic practice dummies, smart equipment, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, sensors or neuroimaging. Used to improve training, monitor players performance or help prevent injuries, they all, ultimately, have one purpose: help win more games. 

It's unfortunate that the podcast focuses solely on games dear to U.S. hearts, mainly American football, baseball and basketball, and that all the sports scientists and experts featured are men. On the other hand, the show deserves a special word of praise for raising privacy concerns when discussing the use of big data analytics in sports.