Matchday equipment · In development
Smart Substitution
Select once. Show clearly.
Smart Substitution explores a modern substitution board designed around two different users: the official who must enter the change accurately and the players who must see it instantly from across the pitch.
Product objective
Reduce substitution input errors and delays without compromising visibility, reliability or officiating procedure.
Two sides, two jobs
The device is deliberately two-sided. Each face serves one audience and shows only what that audience needs.
Pitch-facing display
The front face is visible to players, benches and spectators. Once a substitution is confirmed, it shows only:
- One enormous red outgoing number.
- One enormous green incoming number.
- A black high-contrast background.
- No player grid.
- No photographs.
- No unnecessary interface controls.
The numerals must occupy most of the available display area and remain readable from across a full-size football pitch.
Official-facing control surface
The rear face is visible to the fourth official. It contains:
- A touch-friendly squad-number grid.
- Player number and identity for official verification.
- A clear outgoing-player selection.
- A clear incoming-player selection.
- A confirmation step.
- Battery, brightness and connection status.
- Cancel and correction controls.
The selection pad sits on the rear of the device. It is not permanently positioned underneath the public numbers.
The operating sequence
- 01The approved match squad is loaded or entered.
- 02The official selects the outgoing player.
- 03The official selects the incoming player.
- 04The official reviews and confirms both numbers.
- 05The front display switches to full-screen red and green numerals before the board is raised.
The interface disappears at the moment visibility matters.
The interaction problem
Traditional electronic boards are familiar and highly visible, but entering and correcting numbers through small sequential controls can be awkward under match pressure, poor weather and limited time. Smart Substitution investigates whether direct squad selection could simplify the official’s task without making the equipment less robust.
When raised, it is a display—not a tablet.
After confirmation, the squad grid and controls disappear from the pitch-facing side. Only the two substitution numbers remain, using maximum screen area and contrast.
Direct selection before the board is raised.
The rear touchscreen allows the official to select from the registered squad rather than entering each digit through a small keypad. A separate confirmation step helps prevent the wrong change being displayed.
Try the interaction
Select the change on the official-facing side. Confirm it. Then see exactly what the pitch-facing side displays.
Fictional match demonstration · Northbridge FC
Step 1 · Select player leaving
OUT
—
IN
—
Interactive product demonstrator—not match equipment. A substitution must never depend entirely on Wi-Fi, a remote server or a touchscreen.
Physical fallback
A credible officiating product could still require recessed physical controls for:
- Confirm.
- Cancel.
- Brightness.
- Power.
- Emergency manual number entry or fallback mode.
These controls should sit on the rear or protected edges—not underneath the public display.
What would need proving
- Readability in direct sunlight and stadium floodlights.
- Viewing distance and viewing angle.
- Operation in rain, cold and while wearing gloves.
- Touchscreen rejection of accidental contact.
- Battery endurance and replaceable backup power.
- Drop, impact and weather resistance.
- Speed and accuracy compared with existing boards.
- Manual operation after a software or connectivity failure.
- Secure squad-list loading and data handling.
- Compatibility with existing officiating procedures.
- Competition acceptance, equipment compliance and integration requirements for each intended deployment.
- Weight and safe overhead handling.
What it deliberately does not do
- It does not make substitution decisions.
- It does not replace the fourth official.
- It does not approve or transmit a substitution automatically.
- It does not require facial recognition.
- It does not display tactical, medical or performance data.
- It does not claim integration with any league or officiating system.
Status: Smart Substitution is in active product development. Engineering validation, match-system integration, certification and competition approval remain in progress. The current interface is not match equipment.