Meet Trionda: the 2026 World Cup's Connected Match Ball

FIFA and adidas have unveiled Trionda as the official match ball of the 2026 World Cup. The name translates from Spanish as "three waves," a nod to the tournament being co-hosted for the first time by three countries — Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Beyond its looks, Trionda is built around connected-ball technology. According to FIFA, a motion sensor inside the ball captures its movement 500 times per second and relays that data to the video assistant referee system in real time, giving officials sharper information to support decisions — including tight offside calls.

That sensor works in tandem with the tournament's semi-automated offside system, which FIFA says uses dedicated cameras mounted around each stadium to track the players on the pitch and pinpoint their positions. Together, the ball and camera data are intended to make offside rulings both faster and more precise.

On the construction side, FIFA describes a four-panel design with deliberately deep seams meant to keep the ball stable in flight, plus subtle embossed textures on the surface to improve grip in wet or humid conditions — relevant for a tournament spanning a wide range of climates.

Sources: FIFA — Official Match Ball: TRIONDA · ESPN — The new World Cup ball: Trionda unveiled