How are Engineers Making A Difference at the FIFA World Cup 2022 In Qatar?

Football, food and music are the common threads that unite our diverse world. 

The football world cup is arguably one of the world's biggest sporting events. With 211 nations affiliated with FIFA, football is undoubtedly a global favourite. These nations field a team of champions every four years to compete on a global stage. 

Sports must embrace technological advances to connect with an international audience that expects a certain level of modern conveniences. From an Indian context, the reduction in data prices has engaged a wider audience of users, increasing the number of potential fans. 

As an engineering platform, Skill-Lync is interested in exploring the application of engineering outside the classroom. These four technologies stood out to us from the 2022 FIFA world cup in Qatar. 

The Ball

Basic stats:

Circumference: 68-70 cm

Weight: 410-450 g 

Pressure: 16 psi at sea level. 

Al-Rihla, or the journey in Arabic, is the official ball of the FIFA World Cup 2022. It will have 20-panels of polyurethane skins, allowing better flight mobility and stability. Fans can expect swerves like the kind Beckham delivered during his heyday. 

For the 2022 world cup, the humble ball used in football has evolved, adopting modern technology and improving the quality of the game. Developed by the Munich-based KINEXON, the new ball features an ultra-wideband sensor and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The sensor connects to the cameras around the stadium, which is part of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. 

This technology helps teams identify player performance and devise data-driven strategies. It also provides fans with customizable data like the dribbling speed or the average passing time leading to an improved experience. 

Virtual Assistant Referee

Understanding, the rule of the offside, is like true baptism for every new football fan. The offside rule in football is theoretically simple; if a player receives the ball with no players between them and the goalkeeper, then that player is offside. 

But, the offside in football matches can be difficult to judge because there are only inches of difference between a player and the offside line. The advances and adoption of technology in football help referees make an impartial judgement in high-stake matches. 

The Video-Assistant-Referee (VAR) made headlines after its adoption in the last world cup. The VAR technology in football consists of a referee who monitors a network of cameras around the stadium, providing advice to the on-field referee.

In the 2022 world cup, fans should expect an evolution of the VAR. The Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) consists of 12 cameras strategically placed around the stadium. The SAOT tracks 29 unique points on the player's body generating 50 realistic 3-D images every second. Deploying machine-learning algorithms, SAOT uses the data from the cameras and the ball, providing the on-field referee with better intelligence. 

The SAOT will reduce the judgement time from the current 70 seconds to under 20 seconds. And as every football fan knows, those seconds can be crucial in a heated game. This data will also allow for an improvement in fan interactions bringing them closer to the action on the pitch.

Stadium 974

After the ball and the player, the next important facet of a modern football game is the pitch and the stadium. Every country which hosts a world cup uses the opportunity to upgrade its existing infrastructure to present a welcoming atmosphere to guests from around the world. 

Qatar is no different; they have partnered with some of the world's brightest architects to create awe-inspiring stadiums. One of which is stadium 974. 

Stadium 974 is the world's first completely demountable stadium. This stadium which can accommodate 40,000 people, can be easily deconstructed and rebuilt at another location or split into smaller stadiums. 

Stadium 974 is completely modular and built from the cargo containers that brought the building materials to the construction site. The stadium's designs espouse natural ventilation and decrease the need for artificial cooling, thanks to its proximity to the sea. The stadium's design also reduces construction costs and water usage, giving it a five-star rating from the Global Sustainable Assessment System (GSAS). 

And why is the stadium called 974? 

974 is the country code of Qatar and the number of containers used in the stadium's construction. Happy coincidence or expert engineering achievement? You decide. 

Cooling Systems at the 2022 World Cup

Qatar is a desert, and deserts are hot. Now imagine a 90-minute game in a stadium of 40,000 people. The heat will reduce the players' performance and the fans' enjoyment. Then why did FIFA award Qatar the honours of hosting the 2022 world cup? 

Qatar has a secret weapon; a dedicated mechanical engineering team committed to finding a solution to their heat problem. The Qatari engineers simulated air flow through their stadium designs using advanced Computational Fluid Dynamic software. The inferences from these experiments led to the design of stadiums with natural ventilation and sloping roofs providing shade from the sun. 

Through this project, the engineers understood a simple truth; they only needed to cool the field and the spectators, significantly reducing the cooling area. The cooling solutions employed at the 2022 world cup stadiums have nozzles aimed at the field and small vents with perforation under the spectator seats aimed at the ankles of the fans. The HVAC system recycles the air twice before pumping it out, improving the performance and sustainability of the system. 

The engineers at the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) who designed this ingenious system were responsible for replacing the paint of the Al Bayt Stadium with a lighter shade. A simple move, but one that reduced the temperature inside the stadium by 5 degrees Celcius. 

Engineering and the World Cup

The article gave you insights into some of the best minds in engineering revolutionizing the football world with their innovations. Newer engineering solutions like the above heighten the game’s immersive for fans both inside and outside the stadium. Many unsung mechanical, electrical, civil, and computer science engineers have mulled over solutions to complex problems to create an ideal hosting environment for the FIFA World Cup.

Skill-Lync's founding principle is to empower engineers to chase their dreams and, in the process, transform humanity. Certainly, a lofty goal to achieve, but we are certain that with smart and persistent hard work realizing one’s goals is only a matter of time. 

To train engineers who can build a better world, we partner with industry experts to design our upskilling programs. Our mentor-led programs have industry-oriented projects where students will work on simulations of real-world problems. Our on-demand technical support staff resolves student queries promptly.

At the next FIFA world cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico, do you want to be standing shoulder to shoulder with your fellow engineers who built the stadiums or do you want to experience the event from your home? The choice is yours.

Talk to our career expert to understand how we can help you realize your engineering dreams.