{"id":44059,"date":"2026-05-13T22:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T22:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/44059\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T22:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T22:17:11","slug":"new-exhibit-showcases-the-science-of-soccer-in-vancouver-ahead-of-fifa-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/44059\/","title":{"rendered":"New exhibit showcases the science of soccer in Vancouver ahead of FIFA World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A worker sets up a display of World Cup history during a tour of a FIFA Museum exhibit at Science World in Vancouver on Wednesday.ETHAN CAIRNS\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Soccer fans are getting a chance to peek behind the scenes of their favourite sport, thanks to a new exhibition at Vancouver\u2019s Science World.<\/p>\n

Produced in collaboration with the FIFA Museum, \u201cSoccer and Technology\u201d 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\u2019s FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cFootball, or sports, goes along with technology development,\u201d said Marco Fazzone, managing director of the FIFA Museum in Zurich, Switzerland. \u201cSo we cannot separate both. It\u2019s about keeping the sport as it is at it origins, not transform it but support it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

It comes as the city prepares to host seven World Cup games, starting on June 13 with a battle between Australia and Turkey.<\/p>\n

So many aspects of the sport are rooted in science, said Sebastian Munoz, senior exhibition design manager at Science World.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much,\u201d he said. \u201cThere 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 \u2026 There were so many aspects of it. And how it was used \u2014 how we track the players, how we change the positions, how the coaches analyze all that data \u2013 is very exciting.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\u2019s speed and spin to its position and point of contact. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end, it\u2019s making everything possible for the best possible match on the pitch,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Interactive elements give visitors a chance to try calling a game and being a video assistant referee. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great approach to this whole exhibit,\u201d Munoz said. \u201cWe really want you to get involved in the different professions that surround the game of soccer that most people don\u2019t see because they just see the actual game. But there\u2019s so much around it in the ecosystem that brings this to life that we wanted to show everyone.\u201d <\/p>\n

Several pieces of Canadian history are included in the exhibition, too. There\u2019s 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\u2019s first-ever goal in the men\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n

Science World itself is undergoing a transformation ahead of the World Cup. <\/p>\n

Panels are being installed on the geodesic dome to transform the iconic waterfront attraction into a giant \u201cTrionda, \u201c the official match ball that will be used for all 104 games staged across Canada, the United States at Mexico this summer. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A worker sets up a display of World Cup history during a tour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[164,224,238,214,212,239,17,211,230,231,227,213,210,235,171,234,143,222,249,215,216,229,225,226,219,240,220,244,245,247,242,246,94,243,217,142,233,113,232,241,223,236,237,228,221,95,218,248],"class_list":{"0":"post-44059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-vancouver","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-life-news","31":"tag-lifestyle","32":"tag-local-news","33":"tag-manitoba","34":"tag-national-news","35":"tag-new-brunswick","36":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","37":"tag-northwest-territories","38":"tag-nova-scotia","39":"tag-nunavut","40":"tag-ontario","41":"tag-pei","42":"tag-photos","43":"tag-political-news","44":"tag-political-opinion","45":"tag-politics","46":"tag-politics-news","47":"tag-quebec","48":"tag-sports-news","49":"tag-technology","50":"tag-travel","51":"tag-trudeau","52":"tag-us-news","53":"tag-vancouver","54":"tag-world-news","55":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}