2018 World Cup ball more digital friendly

The Telstar 18, the official match ball to be used at the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, is reportedly designed to be more digitally-friendly, reports cctv.com.

World Cup trophy and official match ball Telstar 18 for 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia [File photo: IC]

The new ball made by Adidas pays homage to the iconic 1970 Telstar ball, but is more modern and upgraded.

The original Telstar ball was made up of black and white panels, making it easy to see on black-and-white televisions.

The Telstar 18 has the gray-black panels instead of black, a reflection of the digital era we are in now.

Telstar 18 also contains four layers of materials that keep the ball sealed, waterproof and prevent it from deformation. The second layer is made of high-tech rubber produced by a Brazilian company. The rubber is a combination of biomaterials extracted from crane sugar to make the ball more resilient and endurable.

Between the second layer and the third, a microchip is installed which is capable of logging the speed and trajectory of the ball. This data can be read by a special device and be used for FIFA research, as well as television coverage.