Virtual goals: introducing new technology into the game of football

For our Interactive Technology Design (ITD) course as part of my Design for Interaction master (TU Delft), we were asked to work on introducing interactive technology into the Cruyff Courts (free access outdoor football fields throughout the Netherlands) so that we could enhance their playability and attractiveness, with an specific emphasis on integrating more girls into the fields, as it was found that they were not making much use of the courts even though they like the game and girl-football is on the rise.

We came up with the concept of “Virtual Goals”, which consists of replacing the normal goals and nets we have today by two large surface areas on each side of the field, in which different types of goals will be displayed according to what the users choose (for example a moving goal or one with a fixed position). The surface areas work independent from each other, allowing the users to make combinations of different goal types to create a more competitive environment.

The Virtual Goals enhance the playability and attractiveness of football by adding an extra dimension to the existing game. They keep the playground accessible for any user (boys and girls) without adding estra rules or changing the basics of the game, which we identified as being a very important aspect of this project.

On the video below, you can see a full explanation of the Virtual Goals and how they work.