When you think of a soccer ball, you may not think of technology. But if you've been following the World Cup closely, you may have noticed balls being charged on the sidelines. It may seem bizarre, but there's a good reason that FIFA decided to make the 2022 World Cup soccer balls high-tech.
The Al Rihla soccer balls used for the World Cup are manufactured by Adidas and take their name from the Arabic word for “the journey.” And now, their journeys can literally be followed, as each ball is fitted with a sensor that allows for spatial tracking in real time. This data, when combined with optical tracking tools, will make the video assistant referee system (VAR) and offside reviews even more accurate. And, importantly, it will also speed up the decision-making process.
Soccer isn't the first sport to incorporate technology into its decision-making. Tennis and football are two major sports that have enhanced the tools available to referees and umpires, making decisions quick and accurate. Now, FIFA is launching a new technological era, and doing so on the world's biggest stage.
The manufacturer of the sensor, KINEXON, is a major player with a lot of experience in sports technology. They spent six years developing and testing the sensor, which weighs just half an ounce, before it was approved by FIFA. Every ball actually contains a device with two sensors, each with a different purpose.
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