The Premier League has been monitoring connected-ball technology during competitive matches as it considers whether the system could eventually be introduced into English football.
The technology uses a sensor embedded inside the ball to identify the precise moment it is touched. That information can give match officials additional data when assessing incidents such as offside decisions, handballs, deflections and double touches.
According to The Athletic, Premier League representatives observed the technology at the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup in London in January and at the 2025 Wings Cup youth tournament at RB Leipzig. The system was used with Puma match balls at those events, but it has not yet been tested in a Premier League match.
Sources told The Athletic: “Premier League representatives have monitored this technology at the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup in London during January and at the 2025 Wings Cup youth tournament at RB Leipzig, where it was used with Puma balls, but the system has not yet been trialled during any Premier League match.”
There are no immediate plans for the technology to be adopted in the Premier League. The league’s existing semi-automated offside system can establish the direction of the ball without an internal sensor, although officials will continue to follow how connected balls are being used elsewhere.
The sources added: “There are no immediate plans to introduce connected-ball technology in the Premier League, as the current semi-automated offside system can determine the direction of the ball without an internal sensor, but the league will continue to monitor its use in other places.”
La Liga became the first professional domestic football competition to use connected-ball technology in every match during a season. Its system uses radio-frequency sensors developed by German company Kinexon Sports and built into Puma match balls, with data transmitted to about 12 antennas installed at each stadium.
The Premier League’s current system instead relies on optical tracking. Up to 30 cameras positioned around each ground follow the ball and collect thousands of data points for every player. That information is used to suggest the point at which the ball was played and automatically create offside lines for the video assistant referee system.
When the system was introduced in April 2025, Premier League officials said: “There was no need for a sensor inside the ball because our optical tracking was able to determine when the ball was played, while the sensor inside the ball would provide a separate measurement of that moment of contact.”
Connected-ball technology has already been used with adidas balls at several major international tournaments. Those events include the men’s World Cups in 2022 and 2026, the 2023 Women’s World Cup, UEFA Euro 2024, UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
The technology was also used at the World Cup this summer. One example came in Croatia’s round-of-32 defeat by Portugal, when a late equaliser was ruled out after the system detected that the ball had touched Croatia forward Igor Matanovic at the start of the move before reaching midfielder Mario Pasalic, who was in an offside position.
The incident demonstrated how a sensor can provide officials with a separate and highly precise record of contact during an attacking move, while the Premier League continues to assess whether such technology would offer benefits beyond its existing optical-tracking system.
