Technology dominates the World Cup in Qatar 2022. And waiting to find out who will win the controversial event for national teams, some images published on the net are causing discussion show the Al Rihla balloon connected to a charger.
In recent years, FIFA has increasingly focused on technology, in order to reduce the error rate to the bone and make matches more spectacular. In the case of the ball, the operation is just like smartphones that we have in our hands every day.
Inside each balloon is a sensorand a fourteen gram chip integrated in the heart of the ball, which opens the door to many uses: one of these was shown worldwide during the match between Portugal and Uruguay and saw none other than Cristiano Ronaldo as the protagonist in the debated “goal-no goal”.
The small battery guarantees six hours of use, but the autonomy reaches up to eighteen hours if the standby mode is activated. The chip is essential for the semi-automatic offside and interfaces with the cameras to trace twenty-nine data points of each individual player, while the Integrated IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor in the center of the ball sends data to the VAR room 500 times per second to obtain ultra-precise information and statistics at any moment.
As observed by the Daily Mail, these are the most technological balls ever used during the World Cup.
