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World Cup: This year’s special Al Rihla ball has the aerodynamics of a champion, according to a sports physicist

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Summary

This article discusses the aerodynamics of the new ball for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The author, a physics professor, explains how the ball's drag coefficient affects its flight and how this year's ball is designed to improve upon previous World Cups' balls.

Q&As

What are the most important characteristics of a soccer ball?
The most important characteristics of a soccer ball are its aerodynamics and how it travels through air.

How does the drag coefficient affect a soccer ball's performance?
The drag coefficient affects a soccer ball's performance by determining how much force moving air imparts on the ball. A higher drag coefficient means more drag and less speed.

Why was the Jabulani ball controversial?
The Jabulani ball was controversial because it was too smooth and had a higher drag coefficient than previous balls. This made the ball slow down abruptly when in flight.

What are the Al Rihla's most notable features?
The Al Rihla's most notable features are its dimplelike features and wider, deeper seams.

How do the Al Rihla's aerodynamic characteristics compare to those of its predecessors?
The Al Rihla's aerodynamic characteristics are similar to those of its predecessors. However, the Al Rihla may move a bit faster at lower speeds.

AI Comments

👍 The new Qatar World Cup soccer ball is the Al Rihla. The Al Rihla is made with water-based inks and glues and contains 20 panels. Eight of these are small triangles with roughly equal sides, and 12 are larger and shaped sort of like an ice cream cone. Instead of using raised textures to increase surface roughness like with previous balls, the Al Rihla is covered with dimplelike features that give its surface a relatively smooth feel compared to its predecessors. To make up for the smoother feel, the Al Rihla’s seams are wider and deeper – perhaps learning from the mistakes of the overly smooth Jabulani, which had the shallowest and shortest seams of recent World Cup balls and which many players felt was slow in the air.

👎 As with every World Cup, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar the players will be using a new ball. The last thing competitors want is for the most important piece of equipment in the most important tournament in the world’s most popular sport to behave in unexpected ways, so a lot of work goes into making sure that every new World Cup ball feels familiar to players. I am a physics professor at the University of Lynchburg who studies the physics of sports. Despite controversies over corruption and human rights issues surrounding this year’s World Cup, there is still beauty in the science and skill of soccer. As part of my research, every four years I do an analysis of the new World Cup ball to see what went into creating the centerpiece of the world’s most beautiful game.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about the new ball for the Qatar World Cup.

Friend: Oh, the Al Rihla ball?

Me: Yeah. Apparently, it's been designed to have the aerodynamics of a champion.

Friend: That's interesting. I didn't know that much thought went into designing a soccer ball.

Me: Yeah, it's pretty amazing. They tested it in a wind tunnel and everything.

Friend: That's cool. I'm definitely going to have to read this article.

Action items

Learn more about the physics of sports.
Understand the aerodynamics of a soccer ball.
Analyze the new World Cup ball to see what went into creating it.

Technical terms

Aerodynamics: The study of how objects move through air.
Drag: The force that air exerts on an object as it moves through it.
Drag coefficient: A measure of how much drag an object experiences.
Laminar flow: A type of air flow in which the boundary layer is only a few inches thick.
Turbulent flow: A type of air flow in which the boundary layer is much thicker.
Boundary layer: The layer of air that surrounds an object as it moves through air.