WASHINGTON, June 2. /TASS/. Official match balls for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup later this month will be equipped with a motion sensor and they would have to be charged prior to each game, Newsweek magazine reported on Tuesday.
The magazine cited a report from Adidas, which manufactured the match ball for this global football championship, as saying that: "The ball contains a 500Hz inertial measurement unit motion sensor chip, held in place by a suspension system, which collects and sends data to the VAR [Video Assistant Referee] system.
"Its sensors will track each touch and can help make decisions about potential offsides, handballs, and other common incidents," the report stated adding that "the high-tech balls are wirelessly charged via customized charging stations and take about 90 minutes to reach a full capacity of about 6 hours during active match use."
Providing more details about the tech innovations, Newsweek quoted a spokesman for Adidas as saying: "Each ball is charged on a specialized cradle in the match day venue prior to the game to ensure optimal function for the full game and beyond… They [installed batteries] are of the highest standard, to allow them to last for several times the duration of a top-level game."
