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Afghan female footballers evacuated by Australian Government
The Australian Government has evacuated a number of female footballers, athletes and their dependents from Afghanistan following an appeal by world bodies FIFA and FIFPRO.
The news was confirmed by FIFPRO, the association for professional footballers, that members of the women’s national football team were among a group of female athletes successfully evacuated from Afghanistan.
Last week, football’s world governing body FIFA joined FIFPRO in writing to governments around the world requesting assistance, as players feared for their lives.
A statement by the international footballers’ federation FIFPRO expressed gratitude to Australia, whilst acknowledging the need for further work in settling the women abroad.
“We are grateful to the Australian government for evacuating a large number of women footballers and athletes from Afghanistan,” FIFPRO said in a statement.
“These young women, both as athletes and activists, have been in a position of danger and on behalf of their peers around the world we thank the international community for coming to their aid.
“There are also many athletes still at risk in Afghanistan and every effort should be made to offer them support.”
Former Afghan women’s team captain turned team director, Khalida Popal, hailed the evacuation.
“The last few days have been extremely stressful, but today we have achieved an important victory,” she said.
“The women footballers have been brave and strong in a moment of crisis, and we hope they will have a better life outside Afghanistan.”
The evacuation came as a result of efforts made by prominent sports people, including Popal. Nikki Dryden, who swam for Canada at two Olympic Games, worked with an Australian lawyer to complete the visa applications for the athletes, which included two Afghan Paralympians.
In addition, the refugee advocates also secured the help of former Socceroos captain, Craig Foster, who lobbied Australian Government officials.
FIFPRO thanked Foster and Dryden, among others, for their efforts and urged the international community to ensure that the players receive the help they need in their new lives.
British sports streaming mega platform, DAZN, has gained a free-to-view exclusivity deal with FIFA for the Club World Cup 2025.
The partnership will mean all 63 Club World Cup matches, featuring 32 of the world’s best clubs, will be livestreamed free-to-view on DAZN’s network. The deal also includes the option to sublicense to local free-to-air broadcasts.
The collaboration between FIFA and DAZN aims to make the game easily accessible to fans across the world, providing a significant boost to the launch of the new competition.
It is also a large next step for the burgeoning partnership of FIFA and DAZN. The two organisations have continued to grow more intertwined, with FIFA aiming to incorporate FIFA+ into the DAZN network.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino exclaimed his joy for the deal.
“I am delighted to announce that FIFA, in partnership with DAZN and FIFA+, will bring the best of club football for free to everywhere in the world, meaning that every single football fan across the globe can watch the best players from the 32 best clubs compete in the new FIFA Club World Cup to be the first official ‘FIFA Club World Champions’,” he said in a press release.
“The new FIFA Club World Cup is a merit-based, inclusive tournament that will be the pinnacle of global club football, capturing the imagination of players and fans across the world. Through this broadcasting agreement, billions of football fans worldwide can now watch what will be the most widely accessible club football tournament ever – and FOR FREE. Football Unites the World.”
DAZN Chief Executive Officer Shay Segev outlined the importance of the deal for DAZN.
“This groundbreaking deal with FIFA is a major milestone in DAZN’s journey to be the ultimate entertainment platform of choice for sports fans everywhere,” he said via press release.
“We’re delighted to have the exclusive rights to this new chapter in global club football, marking the start of our long-term relationship with FIFA and cementing our status as the home of football.
“We’re committed to ensuring that every fan can watch every moment of the thrilling action from this new prime club tournament.”
The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will kick off June 14, 2025, in Miami and finish July 13, in New York New Jersey.
FIFA and Hawk-Eye are working together again to create the ‘Football Technology Centre’, a joint venture that will create new and emerging football technology.
The Sony-owned Hawk-Eye currently provides FIFA with football technology used in the men’s and women’s World Cups. The existing partnership has worked on implementing semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Hawk-Eye has established itself as a pioneer in sports technology since 2001 and is trusted by major sporting events globally. Its takeover in sports technology has come from mission statements of creating officiating solutions, providing accurate results for referee decisions, enhancing sports safety for the players, and ultimately making their work digestible for fans to understand the game’s decisions and nuances.
The immediate technological focus areas cover performance enhancement of the already-in-place technology between the two organisations, officiating efficiency and on-pitch detection algorithms.
With the commencement of the ‘Football Technology Centre,’ FIFA and Hawk-Eye will work towards improving officiating performance through automated offside technology that alerts match officials through a smartwatch, similar to the already-in-place goal-line technology.
These two organisations continuing this technological football advancement partnership makes a lot of sense, considering how the developed SAOT tracks skeletal and object movements of the game ball and all players on the pitch. The in-place system works hand-in-hand with the future objectives of both companies.
The technology will guide video match officials in receiving alerts through the SAOT. Once they review the footage, the on-field match officials will receive the alert.
Since its introduction, SOAT has beaten the VAR system by an average of 30 seconds per decision while providing better accuracy, visual validation, and enhanced clarity among officials and spectators.
On the performance enhancement side of the ‘Football Technology Centre’, the match analytics data feeding and biomechanical data capture can provide FIFA clubs with insightful data on athletes and improve how we analyse football beyond what we see with the naked eye. Critical game situations can be recreated through AI in the metaverse for VR training.
The benefits of Hawk-Eye and FIFA from a fan perspective and engagement aspect are that a 3D virtual recreation of the SAOT decision, once video officials and match officials rule on offside calls, it will automatically be made and shared with the television broadcasting and stadium big-screen.
Through a corporate lens, Sony’s calculated acquisitions and investments in sports technology and biochemical data capture a clear vision for the tech giant to continue dominating the sports technology space.
Beyond Hawk-Eye, owning Pulselive (digital specialist), Beyond Sports (immersive data visualisation), and the new sports technology acquisition for Sony, KiniTrax (motion capture). Sony’s sports division’s focal point is improving digital solutions, broadcast technologies, and officiating solutions for all companies owned under their sports branch.
As a leader in sports technology innovation, Hawk-Eye evolves broadcast and production potential through its work. It gives FIFA cutting-edge data analysis through its intricate AI software, which is then visualised and shared with the viewers.
Hawk-Eye is continuing to push the envelope with new software that enhances football in all facets is a remarkable achievement, especially in its success in revolutionising the game, particularly for referees.
Future implications from this joint venture include further technological integration between existing software through the FIFA and Hawk-Eye collaboration, more robust development opportunities for AI, and how it can help shape the future of football on an international scale, advanced training practices for players and enhancing officiating systems.
The continued collaboration between FIFA and Hawk-Eye is a colossal step in football’s technological advancement, shaping its evolution in the coming years.
For more information on Hawk-Eye Innovations and how they are shaping the future of football, click here.
