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President and CTO of Naztec International Group, Sal Pazhoor is a technology leader with over 35 years of experience and 19 patents.
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The recently concluded 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was a truly international occasion that brought joy into many hearts while breaking many others. For four exciting weeks, viewers across the globe came together to cheer for their national teams. But one thing—the very object this whole occasion is based upon—did not receive the hype it deserved: the humble soccer ball.
Interestingly, many people don’t seem to give much thought to the round object the whole game is built upon. In reality, the modern soccer ball is much more than a few pieces of polyurethane filled with air; it’s actually a surprising example of modern technology, with Qatar 2022’s very own soccer ball, “Al Rihla,” being the first example of “connected ball technology” featured during a FIFA World Cup.
My own fascination for this application of technology stems, perhaps, from having played soccer barefoot in the tiny village in India where I’m from. After many years and countless struggles, I ended up leading the innovation team at a company that specializes in creating new technologies combined with artificial intelligence, robotics and drone technology. Not only as a longtime soccer fan but also the CTO of a tech company, I believe these new developments can apply to many fields. From my perspective, any entrepreneur or business leader can find key takeaways in these recent trends, especially in terms of thinking outside the box and the constant pursuit of betterment, whether on the soccer field or elsewhere.
Connected Ball Technology
Even though match balls had been integrated with sensors before Al Rihla, it was a revolutionary move to apply this technology to the World Cup championship. The center of the ball has a suspension system that “hosts and stabilizes a 500Hz inertial measurement unit (IMU) motion sensor,” Adidas, the maker of the ball, explained. This sensor can send out data at a rate of 500 times per second and offers highly detailed, real-time insight into each aspect of the ball’s motion throughout the game.
Technology In Context: Qatar 2022
The connected ball technology is promising and exciting, but does it impact the game? Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo might say it does. In the Portugal-Uruguay game that took place on November 28, 2022, Ronaldo claimed he got a touch on the ball when Portugal first scored; however, the sensor inside Al Rihla had not detected a touch from Ronaldo. This gave teammate Bruno Fernandes, who had crossed the ball in, the definitive credit for the goal.
The determination of which player on the same team scored the goal might not be a game-changing moment, but this is a great example of the practical application of technology in the stadium. A similar application, though slightly controversial, is the video assistant referee system, which played a role in several game decisions during the most recent World Cup.
As these two technologies—and who knows how many up-and-coming ones—grow together and process data in collaboration, it will be interesting to see whether refereeing (and the human error that comes with it) becomes a thing of the past.
What The Future Holds
So, where could these changes take soccer in the future? Health and performance enhancements are the first that come to my mind, followed by tactical and strategic improvements involving advanced protective equipment and sportswear, wearable fitness monitors, virtual reality training simulations and advanced coaching software. I also imagine, with advanced technology combined with AI, the future soccer game referee could have a miniature handheld device that provides them with decision-making assistance for fouls, offsides and other critical information.
Technology is already being used to enhance the way sports are watched, both in person and on television. This could include things such as virtual and/or augmented reality broadcasts, 360-degree camera angles and interactive graphics. In the near future, I’m expecting to see subscription-based augmented reality broadcasts, using the real-world sports environment in 360 degrees to bring that experience into viewers’ homes. Think of the Pokémon Go app, where users get to combine gaming with the real world. When applied to sports, this could mean GPS technology and AI could create an augmented reality where viewers and players interact with each other as real characters in real locations.
This is why tech leaders need to have an open mind to adopt the needs of tomorrow. A virtual stadium where you experience a game with thousands of others in real time might sound like a sci-fi script now, but leaders need to constantly remind themselves that they are living in an everchanging technology world driven by the innovative mindset of the youth.
What This Means For Leaders In The Technology Space
The future is fun to talk about, but, from my point of view, all these advancements—and their impact—might already be right around the corner. Entrepreneurs and leaders in the tech space are guaranteed to face many challenges from the get-go when launching innovative technologies, and it’s not always easy to assess whether there’s an opportunity for them to expand into an uncharted, budding field.
However, pretty much any major industry holds great potential for technological improvement. Leaders should have the determination and eagle-eye focus to overcome challenges and take these opportunities to the next stage. To maintain this focus, it is essential to study what worked and what didn’t at every attempt, only getting more inquisitive with each failure (and there will be many). It took me more than two years to implement an innovative idea for instant live translation broadcast in a foreign language, but it ended up being a success story.
With a multifaceted vision that explores various fields, a leader should have an open mind in integrating findings that could provide a revolutionary idea for the betterment of the world we live in—even if in small steps, ameliorating one aspect at a time. Many times, an idea that was initially thought to be fantastical and out of reach turned out to be a game-changing marvel in its respective field.
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