Adidas Al Rihla
Type | Football |
---|---|
Inception | March 2022 |
Manufacturer | Adidas |
Available | Yes |
Current supplier | Forward Sports |
The Adidas Al Rihla (
History
Adidas unveiled Al Rihla on March 30, 2022.[2][3] The presentation in Qatar featured former World Cup winners Kaká (Brazil) and Iker Casillas (Spain), as well as Farah Jefry (Saudi Arabia) and Nouf Al Anzi (United Arab Emirates).[4][5] Al Rihla means The Journey or The Trip in Arabic.[6] Rihla is also a traditional genre of Arabic literature about journeys, such as the 14th century travelogue of Ibn Battuta, known simply as The Rihla.[7]
To produce Al Rihla commercially, Adidas subcontracted
FIFA and Qatar Airways partnered with SpaceX on a Falcon 9 mission. On Eutelsat Hotbird 13F mission (launched in October 2022), the first stage B1069.3 included a hosted promotional payload by FIFA, that was a box powered by Starlink containing 2 Adidas Al Rihla balls, that were to be used in 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[13]
Description
Al Rihla's membrane is made of twenty seamless, thermally-bonded polyurethane panels.[14][15] Its "Speedshell" surface is textured with debossed macro and micro patterns, meant to improve the ball's flight stability and swerve.[15][6] Franziska Loffelmann, a design director at Adidas, describes Al Rihla as "the fastest and most accurate FIFA World Cup ball to date."[6] Independent testing of the ball revealed that it has similar performance characteristics to the predecessor Telstar 18 and Brazuca balls.[16]
The ball also features "connected ball technology," a suspension system inside the ball's bladder with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) at the center to provide the video assistant referee (VAR) with highly accurate ball movement data within seconds.[17][18] This technology was developed with FIFA and Kinexon based in Munich.[17][18]
According to FIFA, the visuals are inspired by the culture, architecture, boats and flag of Qatar.[6] The blue, red, and yellow color scheme that is meant to represent the landscape of Qatar.[19] On the "Pro" version of the ball one can read "Football is..." and all around "teamwork - fair play - collective - responsibility - passion - respect" in six languages: English, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, Spanish, and Esperanto.[20]
Final matches – Al Hilm
The match ball for the
Al Hilm has the same languages as Al Rihla, but in another configuration; this time it's Arabic with English, Mandarin, Spanish, French and Esperanto around.
References
- ^ "Qatar World Cup: Al Rihla, a football inspired by the architecture, boats, and flag of Qatar". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Pyzdrowski, Matt. "How does the 2022 World Cup ball stack up with previous editions? Reviewing 'Al Rihla'". The Athletic. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ ""الرحلة" .. تعرف على الكرة الرسمية لبطولة كأس العالم 2022 في قطر | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ National, The (2022-03-31). "Kaka and Iker Casillas unveil 'Al Rihla' match ball for Qatar World Cup 2022". The National. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ "السعودية "فرح جفري" تدشن كرة المونديال الرسمية مع أساطير اللعبة". الشرق الأوسط (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ a b c d "Al Rihla by adidas revealed as FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Match Ball". www.fifa.com. 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ "Telstar, Azteca, Jabulani, Al Rihla: A short history of Fifa World Cup balls". The Indian Express. 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
- ^ Shamaa, Mohammed (2022-12-04). "Prime minister hails 'made in Egypt' footballs for World Cup". Arab News. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
- ^ Wanjiku, Bertha (2022-11-14). "FIFA World Cup 2022: ball, price, design, weight, photos". SportsBrief. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ Hussain, Bilal (2022-11-20). "Pakistan-made footballs at FIFA World Cup 2022: the 'crown jewel' for Sialkot's Forward Sports". Brecorder. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ "Al Rihla, Bola Resmi Piala Dunia 2022 Ternyata Produksi Madiun". Dream.co.id. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
- ^ Aditya, Surya (2022-11-30). "Adidas Bantah Bola Resmi Piala Dunia 2022 Dibuat di Indonesia". Viva.co.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-12-01.
- ^ GewoonLukas_ ☃️🎄 [@GewoonLukas_] (December 12, 2022). "Based on the video of the booster landing on the droneship, I was able to match this with the landing of B1069 during the Eutelsat Hotbird 13F mission" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "سريعة و"ذكية".. ما لا تعرفه عن كرة مونديال 2022!". العربية (in Arabic). 2022-11-20. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ a b US, John Eric Goff, The Conversation. "Men's World Cup Soccer Ball, the Al Rihla, Has the Aerodynamics of a Champion". Scientific American. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Goff, John Eric (20 November 2022). "The World Cup ball has the aerodynamics of a champion". Ars Technica. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ a b "adidas reveals the first FIFA World Cup official match ball featuring connected ball technology". adidas News Site | Press Resources for all Brands, Sports and Innovations. 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ a b Yao, Yuchen; Dixon, Gareth (2022-11-02). "IP grandstanding at the 2022 soccer World Cup". Spruson & Ferguson. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ Llewellyn, Aisyah. "'Very proud': Indonesia makes mark in Qatar with official ball". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Adidas Al Rihla Pro Ball".
- ^ "adidas reveals the FIFA World Cup official Finals match ball". FIFA.com. FIFA. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.