Premier League to Use AI-Powered Player Tracking Tool Next Season

The Premier League is now looking to fully jump into the AI trend as it moves to introduce a new AI-powered tool to track players and make offside calls next season.

In a press release on Thursday, the English football association announced that it is planning to unveil the new Semi-Automated Offside Technology to "provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line."

"Offside" in football refers to a position where a player is "closer to the goal than the second-to-last defender, according to Adidas.

Although it is not considered a foul or misconduct, referees stop a play and award a free kick to the opposing team if a player was caught in the "offside."

Premier League Optimistic About AI Technology

Most football leagues often use on-field linesmen and video-assisted referees to monitor any offside play, usually resulting in long contentions when it was not clear whether a player really did go to an offside position.

The League expects the technology to "produce high-quality broadcast graphics" for a better view of the game to referees, analysts, and spectators.

The decision was unanimously approved by the League's football clubs, including Manchester, Liverpool, and Chelsea, during its annual shareholders meeting.

Talks of utilizing AI technology in the League have been previously raised to curb rising numbers of player injuries.

Sports Industry Moves Toward AI Application

The Premier League is not the only sports body that has started using AI technology to streamline its match assessment.

Access to AI was previously exclusive to third-party analysts and reviewers, that is until FIFA also jumped into the trend sweeping the tech industry.

Ahead of its English counterpart, FIFA debuted a similar AI-based technology during the 2022 World Cup. The technology features 12 cameras and a tracker inside the football to track players' movements.

The technology, at one point, was even embroiled in contention during Japan's match against Spain's national football team during the same World Cup game.

The National Basketball Association was also noted to have started introducing more AI-powered tools to help referees call rulings during intense matches.