(This article originally appeared in a 2005 issue of RFIDOperations)

By Rhea Wessel, Contributing Editor, RFIDOperations

COLOGNE, Germany—The world’s most popular sporting event will be RFID-enabled. The 2006 World Cup soccer tournament will feature RFID-based electronic admission tickets at the games’ 12 German venues.

World Cup organizers announced last year that they wanted to install the admission control system by the end of 2004. It’s not in place yet, so while the initiative appears to be behind schedule, at least one of the 12 stadiums in the tournament—Cologne’s 1. FC Köln Rhein Energie Stadion—has taken matters into its own hands to be ready for the start of play.