Goal Line Tech Will Feature in the 2014 Soccer World Cup

FIFA has announced that—finally!—goal line technology will be used to assess whether balls really do cross the line at the 2014 soccer World Cup, which is due to be held in Brazil.

Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, explained that goal line technology was successfully tested in the Club World Cup in December, so it's been given the green light for use in the 2014 World Cup.

Two systems—Goalref and Hawkeye—were used at the Club World Cup, reports the BBC, but it remains to be seen which one will be chosen for the competition in 2014. While they both provide concrete evidence as to whether the ball ever crossed the line to score an official goal, they're completely different systems: Goalref uses magnetic sensors to determine where the ball is, while Hawkeye uses cameras.

But FIFA is opening the contract up to any company that chooses to tender, so there will likely be some stiff competition. Now all we need is for every other sport to embrace these kinds of systems, too.