There were some interesting Items for discussion on the Agenda for the Annual General Meeting of the International FA Board in London in February 2004.
First of all it was a special meeting of the IFAB, attended for the first time by the full FIFA Executive Committee in recognition of the FIFA Centenary and also in recognition that the modern game has its roots in England.
The Football Association was the first association to be formed in 1863, followed by the Scottish FA in 1873, the Football Association of Wales in 1876 and the Irish Football Association in 1880.
They met as the International FA Board, in 1886 to draw up the Laws which would apply to all football.
FIFA, which was founded in 1904, joined the Board in 1913.
The IFAB is the world’s oldest international football body and still acts as a highly effective guardian of the Laws of the Game.
Note that football is governed by the Laws of the Game and not rules – a throwback to the early days of the game.
But back to the meeting in 2004.
One Item for Discussion to be considered was Radio Communication Systems and FIFA reported favourably on the system which had been used in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2003. The Scottish FA also reported that it a communications system had been successfully used in the Scottish Premier League.
The Board ‘recognised that this technology could make a positive contribution to match control but it was also recognised that such a system must only be used for communication between the match officials and must not be used for broadcasting purposes’
No live coverage of the referees comments, such as we hear in rugby, was to be allowed.
We are used to seeing refereeing teams wired up for matches in leagues and competitions all over the world but it was only in 2004 that this received full approval from the IFAB.
Interestingly, it is not possible to use this equipment in some countries, such as Japan, because of national legal restrictions on the use of short wave radio frequencies.
Another item on the Agenda, raised by the Football Association, was whether the use of electronic advertising boards around the field was too distracting for players and officials. The matter was referred to a sub-committee to investigate but it correctly decided that the type of board used for advertising was not a part of the Laws of the Game and was therefore out of the remit of the IFAB.
So today we accept the referee communication system as the norm and the electronic advertising boards are also a normal part of top level football.
With their ability to be programmed to show a large number of adverts throughout the match, they are also highly lucrative.
Distracting? Hardly in the same league as vuvuzelas!