Technology is a necessity, not a disruption for football's evolution - Safiq Rahim

SHAH ALAM – The debate on technology's role in football continues, with former Harimau Malaya captain Safiq Rahim positing that the sport is now fundamentally reliant on it.

He argued that the strategic integration of technology was not a disruption to the game's purity, but a necessity for its evolution.

While some feared technology's impact on the game's traditional elements, the former Johor Darul Ta'zim midfielder stated that it allowed stakeholders to optimise their efforts and enable a more personalised and professional approach to player development and management.

"We can't run away from technology. It is all a matter of how we utilise it for our own good. The application of science and technology has improved all aspects of football, from physical preparation to tactical analysis and medical recovery," he told Sinar Daily.

Safiq pointed out that technology provided increasingly accurate, data-driven statistics that were difficult to dispute.

This data empowered coaching staff to analyse performance, identify tactical trends and reduce injuries by tracking player movements, physical conditions and biometric data.

"Data can't lie. If not for the technology we have today, we wouldn't be able to examine the critical metrics that influence the game," he added

The evolution of technology in football is ongoing, with innovations such as sophisticated artificial intelligence-driven performance analysis, automated ball tracking and advanced drone cameras promising to reshape how the game is coached and experienced by fans worldwide.