You may have seen a viral image on the Internet of charging soccer balls called Al Rihla used in the World Cup. The image includes a moment when the balls are being charged. Although many people think it’s not real, the image is definitely real. The balls have to be charged before each match to ensure that the sensors inside have enough battery for the next match, and this image was taken at that moment.
While football has been invaded by a lot of technology in recent years, the most important is the video assistant referee or VAR system that delivers accurate replays of difficult decisions. But technology has never touched soccer balls this much before. Now, an array of sensors inside the ball sends 500 pieces of data per second to the authorities. Combined with an advanced camera suite that monitors each player’s position and movements in relation to the ball, FIFA is able to gain data it never had before about who hit the ball, how fast it went, and where it went from there.
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