The FIFA Museum’s new exhibition “Innovation in Action” showcases football’s technological evolution from Pelé’s 1970 fitness tests to today’s GPS and performance tracking systems, tracing how science reshaped the world’s most popular sport.
ZURICH | By Sayer Zaland AIPS Member
The FIFA Museum in Zurich has launched a special exhibition titled “Innovation in Action: Football Technologies on and off the Pitch,” tracing the evolution of the game’s technological and scientific development from early performance tests to modern data-driven systems.
The exhibition, running until March 31, 2026, showcases how football has leveraged innovation to enhance performance, officiating, and the fan experience. Visitors can explore historical and modern tools that have shaped the sport, from early fitness evaluations to advanced GPS and Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems (EPTS).
Among the most notable displays is a rediscovered set of documents from 1970 containing the results of the “Cooper Test” conducted on Brazil’s national team before the FIFA World Cup in Mexico. The data reveals that football legend Pelé was rated “good” in the endurance test, underscoring the limits of early manual methods that relied on human observation and stopwatches.
“The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see how football’s relationship with science and technology has evolved,” said the FIFA Museum in a statement. “It shows how the sport learned to use data and innovation to enhance performance on and off the pitch.”
Visitors can also experience interactive sections that demonstrate how wearable technology, video analysis, and digital tracking have revolutionized player training and match management.
The Innovation in Action exhibition is part of the FIFA Museum’s continuing effort to document football’s global development and connect historical milestones with present-day innovation. All tickets purchased before March 31, 2026, include access to this exhibition at the museum’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
For more information, visit www.fifamuseum.com
