Portuguese Cup: Referees will debut bodycams in the Round of 16.

The Portuguese Football Federation announced this Monday that it will debut, in the next round of the Portuguese Cup [round of 16], the use of body cameras for referees, initially on an experimental basis.

A groundbreaking feature in Portuguese competitions, which the FPF (Portuguese Football Federation) refers to as “a pioneering step in the adoption of new refereeing technologies in official Portuguese competitions,” but which has already been tested internationally.

Body=cams were already used in the last Club World Cup and also in the Intercontinental Cup, as well as, on an experimental basis, in amateur football in England.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has decided to move forward with the implementation of this technological resource, assuming a “leading position in European football,” providing a new perspective on how the game unfolds, now from the referee’s point of view.

The debut of body=cams is scheduled for the Round of 16 matches of the Portuguese Cup, “opening a new chapter in the relationship between refereeing, technology and sporting spectacle,” but the initiative could be extended to other national competitions. This is another step in innovation and a pioneering approach, proving that it is possible to combine new technologies with refereeing. The possibility for fans watching the game on television to access the referee’s view will provide a different, closer, and more human experience of the game,” highlighted the President of the FPF Arbitration Council, Luciano Gonçalves.