Brazil World Cup 2014 is around the corner! Anxiety and desperation is seriously building up! Got your tickets booked? Plot your Amazon tours, beer festivals and all-you-can-eat barbecues with Wetinhappen.com.ng’s incisive guide to News Things You’ll See in Brazil World Cup 2014…
1. NIKE DRI-FIT TECHNOLOGY
It’s June 16. The temperature is 29˚C with 80 per cent humidity. Germany and Portugal are about to face each other in Group G.
Ronaldo struts out onto the pitch, hair gel dripping down his face and sweat patches creeping from his armpits. Disaster! Luckily for CR7, this nightmare won’t come true.
The new Portugal away kit features Dri-FIT technology, which pulls moisture away from the skin to the outside of the garment, where it evaporates quickly.
Mesh panels and laser-cut ventilation holes also improve breathability and airflow across the skin. So don’t sweat it, Ron!
2. NIKE PRO COMBAT RECOVERY HYPERTIGHT
Aching limbs and bruised bodies will need a bit of TLC between matches, so Nike are supplying their athletes with the Pro Combat Recovery Hyper-tight. Created using insight from athletes, scientists, physiologists and coaches, as well as data from the Nike Sport Research Lab, this figure-hugging clobber is designed to reduce swelling for improved muscle recovery. The amount of compression provided by its power grid pattern creates a smooth transition down the leg, with compression firmest at the ankle, where swelling can be most severe.
3. GOAL-LINE TECHNOLOGY
When the Premier League introduced goal-line tech ahead of the 2013-14 season, the powers that be chose Hawk-Eye’s system, a set-up similar to the one used at Wimbledon and all major cricket matches. In Brazil World Cup 2014, FIFA has decided to use GoalControl’s 4D system, which trains seven cameras on each goal from high in the stadium. These cameras track all moving objects within the confines of the pitch at 500 frames per second, filtering out everything except the ball and its position in relation to the goal-line and sending a signal to the ref’s watch if the former crosses the latter. It’s accurate to within 5mm, which should be just about enough to deny England the all-important winner that sends them into the final, right?
4. MAGIC VANISHING FOAM
Referees in Brazil World Cup 2014 will be armed with a can of what appears to be shaving foam.
No, not for Raul Meireles’ monster facial topiary, but to mark the position free-kicks should be taken from and the 10-yard distance required for the opposition wall.
Already used at the Club World Cup, MLS and various domestic leagues in South America, the biodegradable spray, otherwise known as Aero Comex Futline, disappears after about a minute and can also be used by officials to fend off angry players and fans. Presumably.
5. ULTRA HD
Often called 4K, Ultra HD is to hi-def what hi-def was to standard def, with approximately four times as many pixels as a 1080p Full HD picture. Sony, Samsung, LG et al make 4K TVs but they’re not common in living rooms just yet, with only Netflix confirmed to offer regular 4K content. Manufacturers hope Brazil World Cup 2014 will be the catalyst for its mass adoption, with Sony filming three matches – the final, a quarter-final and a round of 16 match – in Ultra HD to cut into an official film for distribution after the tournament. But for now, the chances of seeing Franck Ribery in 4K remain pretty slim. Every cloud, eh?
6. SMART SPECS
Forget Google Glass telling you how to find the nearest KFC – this summer, Brazilian police are testing experimental specs to identify potential troublemakers.
A frame-mounted camera is said to be able to capture up to 400 faces every second, which can then be checked against a police database to help catch known hooligans. Impressive!
7. UNMANNED FLYING DRONES
The Brazil World Cup 2014 final might have an audience of over 700 million, but in July not all of them will be watching in the stands or at home on television.
Brazil’s air force, the FAB, has ordered a squadron of Hermes 900 drones from Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems to ‘gather intelligence’ from high in the skies over the host cities.
They could tell you exactly what that means, but then they would have to kill you.
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