Impacto de las Tecnologías Emergentes en el Fútbol Colombiano: Big Data, Inteligencia Artificial y VAR.

Abstract

Since the creation of football in 1863, we have witnessed how, over the decades, it has become the most watched and passionate sport in the world. In Colombia, it could not be an exception. In 1892, football landed in the country and throughout its history it has undergone great and visible changes that have made it grow and become the most popular sport in the nation. Currently, Colombian professional football has begun a transformation driven by emerging new technologies such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Video Assistant Referee System (VAR). One of the tools that has revolutionized the sport the most is Big Data, since it is being used to collect and analyze large amounts of data on player performance, team sports strategies, and game trends. With this information, improvement strategies can be sought and identified, tactics can be optimized, and more informed decisions can be made in real time during matches. AI is being used to assist in decision-making for both referees and coaches in order to streamline a sport that was stopping a lot due to controversial decisions and discussions over different decisions. On the other hand, AI is efficiently helping to remove violent and misbehaving people from stadiums with its facial recognition system and the latest technology cameras. Finally, VAR is used to review controversial plays and thus ensure that the right decisions are made and thus ensure transparency in the sport. The adoption of these new technologies brings with it great challenges for Dimayor and the Colombian Football Federation, which are the governing bodies of football in the country. Some of these challenges are the need to guarantee data privacy, transparency in AI algorithms, and the improvement of performance without undue demand on athletes. However, the potential benefits far outweigh the challenges and have the potential to transform Colombian professional football into a more competitive, exciting, and most importantly, transparent sport.