The UEFA EURO 2024 tournament is heating up with the introduction of the official EURO 2024 ball named “Fussballiebe”, otherwise known as “Football Love” or “Soccer Love” depending on where you’re from. It’s a way to make the game more objective when making calls.

What makes the Fussballiebe or EURO 2024 ball special? It contains innovative sensors that assists in recording more accurate offside decisions so that they’re not wholly dependent on what the referee saw or failed to see.

High-Tech Football Action with the EURO 2024 Fussballiebe

• What’s the Deal with Fussballliebe? The EURO 2024 ball lay on the ground during a presentation of its abilities last November 15, 2023 in Berlin. The Fussballiebe is a high-tech device capable of tracking its placement during offside decisions to keep referee calls from being ruined by human error.

• European Championship Debut: The Fussballiebe makes its debut in EURO 2024 after it was tested thoroughly and with much success in the last World Cup 2022. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) decided to use the ball for the 51-game tournament from June 14 to July 14, 2024.

• How Does the Fussballliebe Work? The Fussballiebe works through a powerful computer chip fixed unto a gyroscope inside the EURO 2024 ball. The chip sends data 500 times per second in order to record its placement on the field when it’s kicked, so whenever a referee calls an offside, they can err on the side of technology.

• Match Officials Review Data for Decisions: Whenever referees review a call, they do so using the recorded data from the Fussballiebe on top of multiple camera angles. Instead of just going for eye witness accounts from referees who might not be in the position to see what happened, they instead use accurate 3D visualizations illustrating player movement.

• Advanced GPS on a Football: The tech used on the EURO 2024 ball is kind of like GPS, but more about its positioning in the field after “kick point” contact from the footballers rather than when you’re driving around the block and have Google Maps turned on.

• More Accurate Data Means More Unbiased Calls: The point of the Fussballiebe is clear. The additional 3D visualizations, camera angles, instant replay, and some such all help ensure that calls are as fair and unbiased as possible. Anything the referee might miss the ball itself will cover. Mistaken calls can also be corrected with the chip’s data.

According to UEFA, the Fussballiebe’s “connected ball technology” offers even more insight than ever before that has proved pivotal in ensuring there’s less drama in international football than what you’d get from American football and their “Deflate-Gate” scandal.