The adidas OCEAUNZ match ball, which will be used at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand later this year, has been unveiled by FIFA.
The OCEAUNZ is a celebration of the cultures of both host nations with only 117 days till New Zealand plays Norway in the first game on July 20 and Australia plays the Republic of Ireland in the afternoon of the same day.
Chern’ee Sutton, an Aboriginal artist, and Fiona Collis, a Mori artist, both contributed to the ball design. Unique natural environments serve as inspiration, with tributes to Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia’s ties to the Indian Ocean.
This will be Adidas’ seventh consecutive Women’s World Cup football, and it will include the newest Connected Ball Technology, which has a motion sensor in the ball’s center that is powered by a rechargeable battery, just like at the most recent Men’s World Cup in Qatar.
In addition to being a component of FIFA’s semi-automated offside system, it delivers exact ball data that is made available to VAR officials in real time to optimise decision-making.
The OCEAUNZ also has a CTR-core, which is intended to increase accuracy and consistency as well as maximum form and air retention, in addition to the Connected Ball Technology. Aerodynamics are aided by the 20-panel Speedshell’s micro and macro texturing.