Adidas unveils Trionda, the official ball of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Adidas has introduced Trionda as the official match ball for the 2026 World Cup, marking the beginning of a new era for the tournament that will span the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Combining advanced technology, climate-specific design, and years of testing, the ball is built to perform consistently across different environments when the competition kicks off on June 11 at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca.

“The World Cups are all unique, so the balls are also very unique each time,” said Solene Stormann, Adidas’ global category director of football hardware, in an interview with CBS Sports.

Trionda’s name captures the spirit of the event: “Tri” reflects the three host countries, while “onda,” meaning wave in Spanish, inspired the ball’s curved patterns. But its real innovation lies beneath the surface.

Adidas spent years developing and testing the ball before its launch at Brooklyn Bridge Park, ensuring it could adapt to the tournament’s varied weather conditions.

With 16 host cities stretching from Vancouver to Mexico City, designers factored in differences in temperature, humidity, and altitude.

“We know that we have 16 host cities and we wanted to ensure that this ball works everywhere, so we wanted to check on what the differences are in terms of the locations,” Stormann explained.

The ball was tested in controlled environments to simulate humidity, then taken on a road tour through seven host cities for real-game trials.

Players from teams such as Vancouver Whitecaps and Tigres took part, giving feedback that shaped the final design.

Like the 2022 World Cup’s Al Rihla, Trionda is fitted with an AI-powered chip, now positioned on the side of the ball to provide more accurate real-time data.

The technology will support referees with quicker decisions while giving Adidas valuable insights for future designs.

“If you look at certain [key performance indicators] in football - the amount of passes, the amount of high-speed running, the amount of sprints throughout the game, all these things are increasing,” said Hannes Schaefke, Adidas’ football innovation lead.

“From a technological perspective, in performance tracking, the ball was sort of the last frontier because it was super hard to track this from an optical standpoint, almost impossible.”

Aerodynamics were another key focus. Unlike its predecessor, Trionda uses four seamless panels to improve flight stability and control.

“We also see that the panel shape, as well as the different groove lines that we applied onto the outer shell … has an influence on the aerodynamics,” Stormann said.

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“It’s not about the amount of panels that dictate if it’s performing well or not, it’s more about the combination of the panel with its seam length and the debossing lines, how they are actually assorted around the ball, how they are homogeneously placed, so that has actually [an] influence on all the aerodynamic criteria.”

To guarantee performance, Adidas combined lab tests with real-world feedback. In-house robotics were used for precision analysis, while external partners such as Loughborough University conducted wind-tunnel testing.

Player feedback was also a crucial part of the process. “We also want to validate it through the players because they also have a perceived way of seeing if it performs for them or not, so we also go out there and test this with amateur players [up] until pro players to also get their feedback and validation,” Stormann added.

Before the World Cup begins, national teams and some tournaments will receive early access to Trionda, giving players time to adjust to its handling. As the tournament approaches, the ball is set to become both a technological showpiece and a quiet, essential element of the game.