WASHINGTON, June 2. /TASS/. Official match balls for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup later this month will be equipped with a motion sensor and they would have to be charged prior to each game, Newsweek magazine reported on Tuesday.

The magazine cited a report from Adidas, which manufactured the match ball for this global football championship, as saying that: "The ball contains a 500Hz inertial measurement unit motion sensor chip, held in place by a suspension system, which collects and sends data to the VAR [Video Assistant Referee] system.

"Its sensors will track each touch and can help make decisions about potential offsides, handballs, and other common incidents," the report stated adding that "the high-tech balls are wirelessly charged via customized charging stations and take about 90 minutes to reach a full capacity of about 6 hours during active match use."

Providing more details about the tech innovations, Newsweek quoted a spokesman for Adidas as saying: "Each ball is charged on a specialized cradle in the match day venue prior to the game to ensure optimal function for the full game and beyond… They [installed batteries] are of the highest standard, to allow them to last for several times the duration of a top-level game."

"Throughout validation, and in the two FIFA World Cup competitions and UEFA Euro 2024 and 2025 we serviced so far, in no scenario did we have to replace the ball due to a low battery," the spokesman added.

The magazine pointed out that a high-tech ball was also used during the previous FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022. However, according to Newsweek, "unlike the 2022 World Cup ball, the 2026 series has a sensor embedded into the side of the ball, rather than in its center." Adidas reported ahead of the world football championship in Qatar that four year ago a sensor in the ball was powered by a rechargeable battery, which was charged by induction.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States between June 11 and July 19. The matches will be staged in 16 cities across the three countries. This will be the first FIFA World Cup featuring 48 teams instead of the previous 32-team format.