Wait, what! Sensor inside a football? FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to introduce new technology

The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar will have another interesting and new feature within it's official match ball 'Al Rihla'. The feature will be an updated VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system which is called semi-automated offside technology. The new technology will replace the VAR system which was introduced in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The authorities believe that the new system will help the match official make more accurate decisions with the new technology.

"VAR has already had a very positive impact on football and we can see that the number of major mistakes has already been dramatically reduced. We expect that semi-automated offside technology can take us a step further," said FIFA Referees Committee Chairman Pierluigi Collina in a statement.

Details about 'Al Rihla' the official Qatar FIFA World Cup ball

We are proud to announce the official match ball of the @FIFAWorldCup 2022 will feature new connected ball technology. Providing an unprecedented level of data and information for more accurate decisions on the biggest stage of all. 

More info here: https://t.co/4xHI0tgSQM pic.twitter.com/t9rbhzy5sV — adidas Football (@adidasfootball) July 1, 2022

Al Rihla translates as “the journey” in Arabic. Al Rihla is the first World Cup ball in the 92-year history of the tournament which will directly contribute to raising funds to positively impact lives across the world, with 1% of Al Rihla’s net sales contributed going to the Common Goal movement.

It is the 14 th successive ball that adidas has created for the FIFA World Cup, designed to support the game at high speed as it travels faster in flight than any other World Cup ball.

Details about the new technology in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

The new system will have 12 cameras within the stadium which will track the movement and position of both the ball and players. The ball is with a motion sensor inside which will provide the information on the player's position at the time when the ball is kicked. As per ESPN, the old VAR system used to 70 second to make an official offside decision. But now, the decision will be made in only 25 seconds.