- Turns out it’s as money spinner.
- This year’s world cup ball, Adidas’ The Telstar 18 and its red caped knockout stage version, Mechta, will cost R2,499.
Why does the World Cup ball look so different year after year? It's a question Business Insider posed to John Eric Goff — a physics professor at University of Lynchburg and author of "Gold Medal Physics: The Science of Sports."
Turns out, some of those changes haven't been for the best. And have caused more problems than they solved. According to Goff, the reason it’s a money spinner.
This year’s world cup ball, Adidas’ The Telstar 18 and its red caped knockout stage version, Mechta, will cost R2,499.
Its design inspiration comes from a modern interpretation of the 1970 Telstar ball.
Unlike its 1970 inspiration, which were made from 32 panels, these 6 panelled World Cup balls feature embedded NFC chips for the first time ever in a world cup.
The chip enables consumers to interact with the ball using a smartphone. They can then unlock exclusive content with each ball generating a unique identifier and information for the user. The personalised and location-aware experience displays specific details of each ball.
Receive a single email every morning with all our latest news: Sign up here.
Also from Business Insider South Africa:
- Meet the 24-year-old American prodigy set to disrupt SA’s used car industry - within the next two years
- This SA-created irrigation system cuts water usage by up to 70% - and is revolutionising orchards
- People are discovering that scammers are controlling their Apple accounts using a feature for families to share apps
