Qatar 2022 World Cup: Fifa changes ball from semifinals

Fifa’s World Cup decision in Qatar: “The Dream” replaces “The Journey”

Fifa has decided to change the ball from the semifinals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The federation announced this on Sunday: when there are only four matches left before the end of the rainbow event, the Argentina-Croatia and France-Morocco semifinals and the two first/second place and third/fourth place finals, the new ball Al Hilm (“the Journey”), also produced by Adidas, will replace Al Rihla (“the Dream”).

According to Fifa’s explanation, Al Hilm is a further advancement in semi-automatic offside technology: “The ball features the latest advances in design and the same Adidas technology already owned by Al Rihla and which during this World Cup has greatly helped referees make decisions more quickly and correctly. The new technology combines artificial intelligence with data provided by the inertial measurement unit located in the center of the ball. Since it is connected to the semi-automatic offside detection system, it makes it possible to verify the exact moment the ball is played even at minimal offside distances.”