{"id":5375,"date":"2026-07-08T15:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5375"},"modified":"2026-07-08T15:39:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:39:02","slug":"why-world-cup-game-balls-always-make-their-way-back-onto-the-pitch-during-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5375","title":{"rendered":"Why World Cup game balls always make their way back onto the pitch during matches"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Game balls for World Cup matches have become stars in their own right during the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5373\">Queen Camilla visits Wimbledon and is joined by actor who played her husband<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The ball has made headlines with its embedded technology and raised questions among fans, including: Why is everyone expected to promptly toss the ball back onto the pitch?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a question more out of curiosity than an outcry for change.<\/p>\n<p>The thrill of catching a match ball is short-lived for World Cup -goers as staff members working the match await on the pitch in a ready position for fans to throw it back, per FIFA policy. <\/p>\n<p>Some fans try to get a quick selfie with the ball if they are lucky enough to get their hands on it. A game ball would definitely be a coveted memento, especially for those who have spent thousands on flights, hotels and 100-level tickets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, the amount of money that I spent, I should definitely be able to keep a football when I catch it from the stadium,\u201d England fan Jack Goodwin said. \u201cI saved up for a house and blew my whole deposit bringing me and my dad out from London.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a tradition for American sports fans \u2014 catch a baseball at a game and you have a souvenir for life. Bonus if it\u2019s a ball from a playoff game or a milestone moment for the hitter.<\/p>\n<p>In soccer, not so much.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know, and we don\u2019t care,\u201d one Congo fan said when asked if he knew why fans couldn\u2019t keep a ball kicked into the stands. \u201cWe didn\u2019t come here for a prize, we came here to watch our country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Baseball fans climb over each other and jump over seats for balls that come their way. Most soccer fans don\u2019t have a problem throwing the ball back.<\/p>\n<p>Getting to the \u201cwhy?\u201d FIFA\u2019s policy is so rigid can be difficult. FIFA did not respond to emails requesting comment on this story. However, theories range from tradition, to economic concerns, to the ball\u2019s technology, to the flow of the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever been a policy where you can keep the ball, which, unlike baseball, is a fairly expensive piece of equipment,\u201d soccer historian Charles Cutton said. \u201cBack in the day, it was not unusual for there to be one ball at a game. That was it. If it went into the stands, you had to retrieve it or give it back so play could continue. Now you\u2019ve got them stationed all over the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fans can purchase FIFA balls from licensed venders or pop-up stands for anywhere from $60 to $180. It\u2019s unclear how much soccer\u2019s ruling body pays for match-day balls, though it would seem whatever the cost FIFA could afford to have a few more on hand to ensure the match is not interrupted if one sails into the stands and a fan holds onto to it. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5371\">Dolly Parton\u2019s \u2018dream come true\u2019 Broadway musical to open<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But while Major League Baseball fans eventually won the right to keep balls hit into the stands, soccer has stood firm in its expectations over the years. The evolution of the ball itself has only reinforced FIFA\u2019s interest in getting each one back.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s World Cup ball, the Adidas Trionda, is the most sophisticated to date. <\/p>\n<p>Gone are the days of hand-stitched, leather, 32-panel balls.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve evolved from being natural materials like leather to now being a polymeric material,\u201d Georgia Tech professor Jud Ready said. \u201cThat\u2019s done for a couple of reasons. First, cost, but also, performance, because polyurethane does not absorb moisture like leather would.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Trionda is a four-panel, thermally pressed polyurethane ball, but perhaps the most defining feature is on the inside, where a 500Hz motion sensor sends real-time data to the video assistant referee system to help officials with decisions, including the oft-controversial offsides call. <\/p>\n<p>Real-time data also goes to match referees to determine whether the ball has crossed the goal-line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe World Cup balls have radio frequency transmitters inside to serve basically as a GPS, as well as accelerometers to understand how much force is being kicked,\u201d Ready said.<\/p>\n<p>Ready\u2019s colleague, professor Manos Tentzeris, said the sensor operates with 99.99% accuracy. Paired with cameras, it can pinpoint the precise location of anything on the pitch down to the tip of a shoe, which can be enough to determine whether a player is offside.<\/p>\n<p>That technology isn\u2019t quite as valuable outside the stadium. Ready said the ball relies on stadium infrastructure to communicate with officials, making the electronics virtually unusable outside a World Cup venue.<\/p>\n<p>Balls also must be charged before a match using a cord-free system similar to charging a smartwatch.<\/p>\n<p>Because it\u2019s such a process, it seems unlikely a game ball will ever become a keepsake for a fan, but never say never \u2014 one day it could happen.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5366\">President of NC nonprofit convicted of embezzling over $400K for online sports bets<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>\n                See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here\n              <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Game balls for World Cup matches have become stars in their own&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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