Soccer Tech

Having recently watched the Euro Cup finals, I began to wonder what kind of technology is employed into the world of soccer. Having watched every single game of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, I think its fair to say that I am a fan of the sport. With technology on the forefront of my grey matter (the brain), I set about to research my intended topic.

The two main types of technology utilized by the Soccer tournaments around the world are:

• RFID embeded tickets
• Soccer Ball Curved Panels

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a method of tracking widely utilized in the retail industry. They look like stickers with a spiraling silver thread on the adhesive back. In a nut shell, when a transmitter sends out a radio signal, it is captured in the spiral on the back of the sticker and converted into a minute electrical charge that is used to transmit a weak, but detectable, signal. This signal is then captured by the original transmitter and then analyzed.









Basically, if the RFID is not disabled, it will emit a signal at the exit that will be recognized when you exit a store and all hell breaks loose. I do not suggest you rob a store to find out about this. Tickets to the 2006 FIFA World Cup had embeded RFID tags in them with the intention of deterring counterfeiters. After all, it is the World Cup.

One of the other major innovations in the sport was the reinvention of the Soccer Ball. Traditionally, the soccer ball is made up of hexagons, hand stitched into a circular shape. The more hexagons you use, the more circular the ball will be. However, hexagons still had corners, meaning that the ball would never be a true sphere. To overcome this hurdle, the folks at Adidas came up with an ingenious curved-paneling design.
Pictured above is the curved-paneling design that was employed in all the 2006 FIFA World Cup matches. It has become the standard for soccer ball design since. The curved-paneling design ensures that corners will be minimized and a more truer sphere will be achieved. The soccer ball pictured to the left is the final design that set the standard for all soccer balls made since. So what is the point of creating a truer sphere? Well, a ball that is more round will have better accuracy and will also travel faster and longer through the air. Though the distance might be a few feet extra, in the world of professional sport, that is enough distance to make or break any game. Players are more accurate with this new design and are more comfortable with it because it is easier to use once one is used to it.

Now this does not mean that any person can become an instant soccer star because aiming a soccer ball can still be challenging. What the folks at Adidas claim is that it will be a little bit easier than before.

The way technology shapes our lives is quite evident by merely looking around but it is the things that we do not really look at, like equipment in professional sports, where the true innovation lies. Competition is the fuel required to power a necessary part of technological development...so compete! And be victorious!