Gooooaaaallll!

GOODDAAAALL LLL!! Aggrieved NFL coaches can throw the red challenge flag to initiate instant replay, and tennis pros can petition the chair umpire to trigger a camera's view of the last line call. But in the world's most popular sport, soccer, coaches could only rely on the fallible eyesight referees - until now. Outcry over obvious goals that weren't counted caused FIFA to reconsider its stance on goal-line technology, leading the organization to initiate a test run at the 2014 Confedera- tions Cup in Brazil If all goes as planned, FIFA's technology of choice for the tournament, GoalControl-4D, will premier at the World Cup in 2014, forever altering the beautiful ...OR, IS IT? game and possibly making it a fairer one. HOW IT WORKS * * * Seven high-speed cameras affixed to the upper portions of the stadium are focused on each goal to track where the ball is located in relation to the goal line. Goals are awarded when the ball completely crosses the line. The cameras continually track the ball, sending signals to a powerful computer that turns these data streams into images that show the ball's precise location, give or take a few millimeters. Players and referees are auto- matically filtered out. When a team scores, the computer transmits an en- crypted radio signal to a wristwatch worn by the referee that will trigger a vibration and a display – the word CORL "Goal." Signals can reach the watch in less than a second. The referee has the authority to award and disallow goals regardless of the computer's call. 4. The computer also generates an image of the goal on a virtual field that can be shown on stadium screens and television broadcasts. The creators of GoalControl-4D say fans will want to see proof. FAIRNESS...AT A PRICE - MANAUS FORTALEZA $3.2 MILLION O NATAL TO INSTALL GOALCONTROL-4D IN ALL 12 WORLD CUP VENUES O RECIFE BRASÍLIA BASED ON $267,000-PER- CUIABA O O SALVADOR STADIUM ESTIMATE BELO HORIZONTE SÃO PAULO $256,000 RIO DE JANEIRO CURITIBA TO OPERATE GOALCONTROL-4D DURING ALL 64 MATCHES BASED ON $4,000-PER-MATCH ESTIMATE O PORTO ALEGRE SOURCES: FIFA, GOALCONTROL-4D, ASSOCIATED PRESS