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The 2022 Qatar World Cup uses two official balls during the tournament, the first being the “journey” ball, which is used from the group stage to the quarter-finals, and the second being the “dream” ball, which is used in two rounds, the semi-finals and the final.
The State of Qatar is keen to offer unique innovations and modern technology to enhance the success of the Qatari version and become the first tournament to be held in the Middle East and the region with innovative technology to enhance the modernity of football and keep its pace with the development of modern technology, the use of new technology in the ball to keep pace with the technological advancements in past sports games to help referee and monitor every detail during the game to achieve justice and prevent any sense of injustice that may penetrate the souls of players and fans.
The huge development of the level of the official balls used in each World Cup tournament has become a tradition, updated with each World Cup and relying on an official “protocol” that allows each ball to have a specific design and special symbolism that links the World Cup to the host country.
FIFA described the “Journey” ball as sustainable, stunning and high quality, and said the name was inspired by the culture, architecture, famous ships and flag of the state of Qatar, which is hosting the World Cup.
The “Flying” ball is the 14th ball in the history of the World Cup Finals and the first ball in the history of the tournament to be made of ink and water-based adhesive, and features high speed movement during flight. It is faster than any other ball in the history of the tournament and contains (20) panels, 8 of which are small triangles with roughly equal sides, and (12) larger triangles with small gaps placed across their surface. They are harder and more aerodynamic, and the properties of the surface they are covered in give it a relatively smooth feel compared to its predecessors.
The Journey ball is connected to a charger that is charged before each match, thanks to electronic sensors that send 500 signals per second to the cameras in the stadium and the video technical room (VAR) and thanks to being connected to a semi-automatic intrusion detection system.
Japanese researchers tested the last four World Cup balls in a wind tunnel at Japan’s University of Tsukuba and found the “Flying” had very similar aerodynamic properties to its predecessors and moved slightly faster than previous balls.
Designed with sustainability as a priority, the outer membrane is made of polyurethane leather, which improves accuracy and stability when flying and drifting, and its internal design provides speed and consistency in fast movements, with maximum air retention and rebound precision.
The “journey” ball was used at the start of the tournament and was used for a total of 60 matches from the group stage to the quarter-finals. From the semi-finals onwards, the “dream” ball was used, so the semi-final matches between France and Morocco and Argentina and Croatia were all played with it, as well as the match between Morocco and Croatia to decide the third and fourth place, and the final between France and Argentina.
The ‘Dream’ ball, which replaced the ‘Journey’ ball in the final stages of World Cup matches, uses the same technology based on the ‘Link Ball’ system, which has proven to be very successful in identifying offside cases faster and more accurately as it relies on player position data to provide the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) with accurate information, allowing them to make the best decision.
The technology provides the necessary support for the semi-automatic system to determine offside situations by coordinating the ball data received from the sensors mounted on it and using artificial intelligence technology, allowing it to identify the moment during the game with extreme accuracy. Offside situations are not completely clear.
The ball has been designed with environmental protection in mind and all important aspects have been taken into account, making the “Dream” the first official ball in history to be used for the semi-finals and finals of a FIFA World Cup to be made entirely of water-based inks and adhesives.
The ball’s design is based on a golden ground covered with small triangles, with the image inspired by the shimmering desert surrounding the Qatari capital city of Doha, and the “Dream” also includes the colors of the original FIFA World Cup trophy as well as a pattern of the Qatari flag.
Argentine star Lionel Messi and Frenchman Kylian Mbappe were considered the top scorers in the “Journey” and “Dream” goals, with Messi scoring four goals in the first goal, including a goal against Saudi Arabia in the first round, a goal in the second round against Mexico, a goal in the top ten against Australia, a goal in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands, three goals in the second round, a goal in the semifinal against Croatia, and two goals in the final against France, in addition to a goal in the penalty shootout, helping Argentina win the championship.
French star Mbappe also managed to score two goals and won the Golden Boot Award for the tournament’s top scorer with 8 goals, which is also the highest number of goals scored by a player in a single World Cup since the 2022 World Cup. South Korea and Japan, Brazilian Ronaldo scored 8 goals in the final, becoming the second player in history to score three goals (hat tricks) in a final, second only to Englishman Jeff Hurst, who scored the same number of goals in the final between England and Germany in 1966.
In the first stage, there was a dispute in the group match between Portugal and Uruguay. The Portuguese player Bruno Fernandez passed the ball to his teammate Ronaldo’s head and the ball went into the Uruguayan goal. The football world reported it immediately and responded quickly. However, there was no notification that Ronaldo touched the ball, so the goal was counted as his teammate Bruno Fernandez’s.
The incident was controversial, but the travel ball was decisive in determining who touched the ball, as it was the first case in the World Cup to be decided by the ball itself.
The “Journey” and “Dream” balls are the two most eye-catching balls in recent years, because the World Cup balls will still be the official balls of FIFA matches until the next World Cup, and they are used in matches held in various leagues.
In the first phase of the World Cup, the attackers performed well and the goalkeepers did not make any comments on the ball and the pain that the goalkeepers had in handling the ball, especially in preventing players from shooting, whether from long distance or in the penalty area. The whole world witnessed many wonderful saves by goalkeepers on the road of the World Cup, the most notable of which was the save made by the Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. France launched an attack in the last minutes of the final.
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