Soccer

Construction is complete on a new stadium in Qatar. Created for the country's 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, it features a complex facade that's said to shimmer in sunlight and can also be illuminated with integrated lighting at night.

Foosball tables are a common sight at hip, trendy tech startups, even though they're actually very low-tech devices. Perhaps RoboSoccer might be more appropriate, as it's an attempt to bridge the gap between physical and digital gaming.

​We've already seen "smart" soccer balls with integrated sensors that track parameters such as the ball's spin and trajectory. Well, the DribbleUp takes a different approach to smart training. It has markings that allow it to be tracked by a free iOS/Android app.

VFL Wolfsburg is to become the first German soccer team to have LED pitch lighting installed at its stadium. Philips, which is providing the lighting, says it will deliver a better quality of light at the Volkswagen Arena, allowing for improved TV coverage of games.

Building soccer pitches isn't typically a priority in London's limited space, so architect AL_A has devised a way to make the most of the spaces that are available. Its Pitch/Pitch concept can fit multiple five-a-side soccer pitches on small disused plots by stacking them on top of each other.

Forest Green Rovers may only play in the 5th tier of the UK's soccer pyramid, but the team will soon have facilities up there with the very best. It has appointed Zaha Hadid Architects to construct a low-carbon stadium made almost entirely of sustainably-sourced wood.

Zepp Play Soccer is a small sensor worn on the calf to keep tabs on things like kicks, sprints and distance covered, and can even compile a highlights package for your own post-game analysis.

Imagine having a coach in your soccer ball. That's essentially what InsideCoach says it has done, by creating a smart soccer ball that can monitor a player's skills, track progress, provide tips on how to improve, and make practice more interesting.

Adidas has done away with a staple of most covered footwear and launched a laceless football boot that's to be worn in-game by some of the world's top players this weekend.

Scientists at MIT and the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) have leveraged videogame technology to generate broadcast quality 3D video of soccer matches from a 2D source in real time.

A new 300,000 LED façade has been installed at the Allianz Arena, home of soccer powerhouse Bayern Munich. The façade is wrapped around the entire outside of the 71,137-capacity stadium, covering an area of of 26,000 sq m, and will be used to create dynamic and colorful light displays.

The new game of Teqball arches the ping pong table's back, pulls out the paddles and challenges players to put their football skills to work. Designed by a UK-based start-up company with international roots, it's part football training tool, part competitive table game and part hybrid sport.