ESPNsoccernet: Global

FIFA has announced that it has approved and granted a licence to a fourth goal-line technology system.

Goal-line technology was tested at the Club World Cup in Japan in December 2012 (GettyImages)

World football's governing body has added the GoalControl 4D system to the list of contenders to be used at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The German-produced system uses 14 high-speed cameras placed around the pitch and directed at the goals to determine whether the ball has crossed the line.

A FIFA statement said: "The position of the ball is continually and automatically captured in three dimensions as soon as it approaches the goal-line.

"When the ball has completely crossed the line, the central analysis unit sends an encrypted signal to the referee's watch in less than a second."

The system, which can be used with standard goalposts and balls, will join the newly-licensed Cairos technology, along with Hawkeye and GoalRef, as FIFA-approved systems.

FIFA used both Hawkeye and GoalRef at last year's Club World Cup in Japan, but it is thought that only one will be selected for this year's Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.