TECH FEATURE: The World Cup Ball That Needs To Be Plugged In

Football has officially entered its charging era. If you peeked inside the locker room before a World Cup match, you would spot an interesting sight alongside the jerseys and cleats: a row of official Adidas Al Rihla match balls plugged into power strips, charging just like your smartphone.

This isn’t a gimmick. Inside the center of the ball, suspended by a specialized suspension system, sits a tiny, state-of-the-art motion sensor.

This clever little chip tracks the ball’s exact position in real time, logging every single kick, pass, and touch at a staggering 500 times per second.

To keep this live data streaming straight to the offside officials and the VAR room, the ball relies on a small battery.

Before kickoff, it requires a full charge to fuel its active battery life. Combined with tracking cameras around the stadium, this high-tech setup instantly eliminates guesswork from dramatic goal-line scrambles and millisecond-tight offside decisions.

Fortunately, the players don’t feel a thing. The sensor is so lightweight that the ball flies, spins, and bounces exactly like a traditional match ball.

The beautiful game remains unchanged.