The official match ball of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Trionda, is manufactured in China. The ball contains an inertial measurement unit chip weighing just 14 grams, capable of collecting data on touch, speed, and rotation at a frequency of 500 times per second and transmitting it in real time to the VAR team. On June 15th, Beijing time, in Group F match, Sweden defeated Tunisia 5-1. In the 84th minute, substitute Svanberg, who had been on the pitch for only 17 seconds, scored a goal but was flagged offside by the assistant referee. After VAR intervention and review, the chip data showed that the forward Isak, who was not offside, had touched the ball with extremely slight contact of the toe. Svanberg had then retreated to an onside position, and the goal was ultimately awarded.
Trionda has a built-in rechargeable lithium battery, uses wireless charging, takes about 90 minutes to fully charge, and can work continuously for 6 hours, covering the entire normal match duration. In-ball sensor chips have been introduced into official match balls since the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where they primarily cooperated with 12 high-speed cameras to build a semi-automated offside detection system. For this World Cup, the number of optical tracking cameras in the stadium has been increased to 16, capturing over 150 million data points per match, allowing the VAR team to reconstruct the on-field situation at any moment in 3D. FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the deep involvement of artificial intelligence and data technology is enhancing the transparency and accuracy of decision-making in modern football.