Some Euro 2016 soccer games will be shot in virtual reality
UEFA plans to use dozens of Nokia OZO cameras.
The Union of European Football Association, more commonly known as UEFA, has revealed that it will be filming matches in virtual reality at the Euro 2016 Finals. The tournament, which takes places in France starting June 10th, brings together the best 24 teams from Europe -- including England, Germany, Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. According to The Daily Mirror, UEFA is going to use dozens of Nokia's $60,000 OZO cameras to capture 360-degree video inside stadiums, although it's unclear what the organization plans to do with the footage.
One option UEFA's considering, the British publication reports, is having a YouTube channel where fans can watch some of the content shot at the tournament. Unfortunately, nothing is set in stone right now. "It's UEFA's goal that one day the watching fan will be able to watch a match through immersive virtual reality," Bernard Ross, head of UEFA TV, said to The Daily Mirror about the technology. He added that the goal is for people to "experience the game as if they are there in the stadium."
Football as a sport, guided by its governing body FIFA, hasn't been the fastest to adopt emerging technologies. It took years for FIFA to approve the use of goal-line tech, and to this day not every league around the world has implemented it. Still, the Euro 2016 is set to become the first major soccer tournament to employ virtual reality in abundance, after a brief test during the recently settled Champions League semifinals.
Let's hope UEFA doesn't disappoint and shares its VR creations with everyone on the internet.
