Who said only humans can play football and only players like Maradona or Pele could become champions of this fascinating world which moves around a little ball? Well, there is another kind of football championship with the same harsh rules and game play, but the players are in fact… robots.

So, the 3rd FIRA (Federation of International Robosoccer Association) Robot Football UK Championship was held and sponsored by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in Birdcage Walk, London, the final being again played between the universities of Plymouth and Warwick - which Plymouth won convincingly 5-0.

Plymouth was also assigned to organize the UK representation at the 2006 FIRA World Cup in Dortmund.

Students coming from universities such as Nottingham, Oxford or Open competed in what they called one of the greatest challenges of modern robotics.

But this competition is, in fact, just the first step towards the greatest event in the world of robots - The Robot Football World Cup - which will take place in Germany, in June.

And, as any serious tournament, this one had strict guidelines set out by FIRA. The robots can have different shapes or sizes, but the "foundation" is to remain the same. Also, these "wheeled soccer players" must have vision systems built-in, so they can trace their competitors or team members and, most of all, the ball. "Once they are on the pitch, they are thinking using the computer", said Aris Karcanias from Warwick University team.

They have complete autonomy of movement, being "informed" about the next move via Bluetooth or radio. More precisely, the game is watched by a special camera that transmits the information to a computer and then, the team members decide what their robots will do next, in order to get the ball, a golf ball in fact, in the net of the adversary.

The UK Championship winners can only hope to swipe off the supremacy of South Korea team at The Robot World Cup.

Photo credits - FIRA