First it was soccer and now its cricket. The association of RFID with sports is increasing. Earlier it made its presence felt at the World Cup Soccer and now is being put to use at the ICC Champions Trophy or the 'Mini World Cup'. Cricket is for the Asian subcontinent, what soccer is for Europe. After the success of RFID tickets at stadiums in Germany which hosted the World Cup Soccer, RFID has made a move towards the Asian subcontinent where the game of cricket is a religion. The RFID based ticketing solution is being deployed in the second semi final match being played between West Indies and South Africa on 2nd November in Jaipur, India

For making this possible NXP Semiconductors, Smartag and TRAZE RFID were involved. NXP is already credited with developing RFID based ticketing solution for the FIFA World Cup, 2006. Now the VIP guests coming to the stadium to watch the games would be able to experience the hands free RFID ticketing solution. All the guests would need to do is simply walk in through the gates of the stadium holding their tickets and this time they would be spared of the inconvenience of getting their tickets checked manually. These tickets have been equipped with an ICODE transponder IC and a unique ticket number and fully comply with the ISO 15693 standard.

This solution is expected to change the face of the world cricket and you never know if this solution gets implemented in World Cup Cricket 2007 too.