The Fifa Museum in Zurich, yesterday, opened its doors to a fresh, interactive exhibition exploring how innovation is reshaping the world’s most popular sport – from the dressing room to the broadcast booth, and from referees’ wrists to fans’ phones.Developed with Fifa’s Innovation Team, the show titled ‘Innovation in Action’ takes visitors behind the scenes of football’s evolving tech universe. It tells the story of how systems like Video Assistant Referee (VAR), goal-line technology, wearable trackers, and data analytics now drive the game – tools that continue to spark debate among fans from Kampala to Zurich.World of innovation’This is about showing people the side of football they don’t usually see,’ says Marco Fazzone, Managing Director of the Fifa Museum. ‘Visitors can step inside the world of football innovation and experience it hands-on.’Organised around five themed areas – Broadcasting and Media, Intelligent Data, Refereeing and Fair Play, Staging the Game, and the Innovation Lab – the exhibition blends storytelling with touch-and-try tech.Fans can walk through how match footage evolved from grainy black-and-white to 4K ultra slow motion, or slip into a referee’s shoes with headset replays that simulate match-day pressure.Statistics on equipAmong the highlights are the Fifa Player App, which tracks player data in real time, and Canada goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan’s famous bottle marked with penalty statistics from the Women’s World Cup 2023 – a nod to how analytics now influence crucial match moments.There’s also a first-of-its-kind referee body cam tested at the Fifa Club World Cup 2025, offering fans a unique view of officiating from inside the game.Visitors are encouraged to test their decision-making skills as referees, act as goal-line technology operators, or even direct a live TV broadcast.For budding African innovators, the Innovation Lab lets them submit ideas that could shape the future of football – a concept that might inspire local federations like Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) to explore new tech adoption for domestic competitions.The exhibition runs until March 31, 2026, at the Fifa Museum in Zurich, with entry included in the regular ticket. For Ugandan fans, it’s a glimpse into what the future of the game could look like – smarter, faster, and fairer, yet still full of raw emotion.