Soccer: Tell-all ball passes test

LIMA - Soccer's governing body Fifa has given an upbeat assessment of tests on a high-tech ball that alerts officials when it crosses the goal-line.

The "intelligent ball" contains a microchip that relays a signal via sensors placed around the pitch to alert match officials if it crosses the line.

Fifa will test it again at the World Club Championship in Japan in December.

The International Football Association Board (made up of Fifa, the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish associations) will then decide at a meeting on March 4 whether to use the technology at next year's World Cup in Germany.

"We have done the first part of the experiment. There were many good things," said Fifa general secretary Urs Linsi.

"But for sure there is still some room for improvement."

Fifa and Adidas, which helped develop the ball, said no goals at the world under-17 championship in Peru required the technology

The microchip in the modified ball is less than 15mm in size and sends an encrypted radio signal when it crosses the line.

That signal is relayed to a computer and in less than one second a vibrating "goal" message is sent to a watch on the referee's wrist.

Teams in Peru were given 15 training balls - 10 of them intelligent and the other five normal - and Fifa spokesman Andreas Werz said none of the players could spot the difference.

Fifa says, however, that the ball will never replace the eyes and ears of the referee.

- REUTERS