Soccer fans are getting a chance to peek behind the scenes of their favourite sport, thanks to a new exhibition at Vancouver's Science World.
Produced in collaboration with the FIFA Museum, "Soccer and Technology" showcases decades worth of innovations that have helped make the game wildly popular around the globe, from the camera used to broadcast the first live game in 1954 to the goal-line sensors that will help officials make calls in this summer's FIFA World Cup.
"Football, or sports, goes along with technology development," said Marco Fazzone, managing director of the FIFA Museum in Zurich, Switzerland. "So we cannot separate both. It’s about keeping the sport as it is at it origins, not transform it but support it.”
About 150 pieces from the FIFA Museum and its partners were brought to Vancouver for the exhibition, which will make its North American debut when it opens Friday and runs through Sept. 7.
It comes as the city prepares to host seven World Cup games, starting on June 13 with a battle between Australia and Turkey.
So many aspects of the sport are rooted in science, said Sebastian Munoz, senior exhibition design manager at Science World.
“I learned so much," he said. "There are so many factors that come into, for example, the infrastructure, the lights, all the sensors in the balls, all the sensors in the new pinnies. All the new technology was a big learning curve … There were so many aspects of it. And how it was used — how we track the players, how we change the positions, how the coaches analyze all that data – is very exciting.”
One display showcases the inside of the balls that will be used this summer, complete with the sensors that will track everything from the ball's speed and spin to its position and point of contact.
Another shows the trackers players wear to collect data that helps provide coaches and training staff with individualized plans to keep them healthy and playing at their top level.
Science World visitors will also get insight into why officials on the field make the decisions they do, and witness some of the technology and innovations that make the game look the way it does, both in stadiums and on screens, Fazzone said.
“At the end, it’s making everything possible for the best possible match on the pitch," he said.
Interactive elements give visitors a chance to try calling a game and being a video assistant referee.
“It’s a great approach to this whole exhibit," Munoz said. "We really want you to get involved in the different professions that surround the game of soccer that most people don’t see because they just see the actual game. But there’s so much around it in the ecosystem that brings this to life that we wanted to show everyone.”
Several pieces of Canadian history are included in the exhibition, too. There's the No. 12 jersey Christine Sinclair wore when Canada won gold at the 2020 Olympics and a match ball from the 2022 World Cup game where Alphonso Davies scored the country's first-ever goal in the men's tournament.
Science World itself is undergoing a transformation ahead of the World Cup.
Panels are being installed on the geodesic dome to transform the iconic waterfront attraction into a giant "Trionda, " the official match ball that will be used for all 104 games staged across Canada, the United States at Mexico this summer.
A drone was used to scan each individual hexagon that makes up the dome, and 130 custom panels were printed. It will take workers about three weeks to attach each panel to the building and complete the massive ball.
Vancouver and Toronto are among 16 cities hosting the expanded 48-nation World Cup this summer. The tournament kicks off in Mexico City and Guadalajara on June 11 and runs through July 19, when the final will be played in East Rutherford, N.J.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
