Corinthians to meet Bahia as semi-automated offside begins in Brasileirão | OneFootball

The Campeonato Brasileiro will introduce semi-automated offside technology from round 20, with Corinthians set to encounter it away to Bahia on 23 July at the Casa de Apostas Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador.

According to Meu Timao, the system's official Serie A launch is on 25 July in Athletico-PR v Internacional at Arena da Baixada, and Santos v Chapecoense at Vila Belmiro. The remaining eight fixtures in the round will also use it.

To implement SAOT, the CBF has run months of work with referees and VAR staff. Training took place at the VAR hub in Rio de Janeiro, including guidance on operations and analysis of Premier League clips.

Serie A clubs were involved too. In March, Neo Química Arena received the equipment, which was tested before official competition use.

Alongside the 19 top-flight stadiums, Arena Barueri will also be fitted. It can host Palmeiras home matches when Nubank Parque is unavailable for official games.

Each venue has 28 to 32 dedicated cameras and five local servers for connectivity. Feeds are sent in real time to the CBF VAR Operations Centre in Rio, which has 10 control rooms integrated with VAR and SAOT.

The system will be operated with Genius Sports, its provider, with the CBF investing about R$ 25 million. The tool is already used in the Premier League, the Belgian top flight and Mexico. Genius Sports will also supply tracking for players, referees and the ball, plus its Performance Studio for tactical and performance analysis.

Source: Meu Timao