By Pearl Josephine Nazare and Mohammed Benmansour
VANCOUVER, June 23 (Reuters) - Soccer & Technology from the FIFA Museum, in its North American debut in Vancouver, has drawn hundreds of fans to Science World to study the game's evolution as organisers aim to accelerate soccer's growth in ice hockey-mad Canada.
Located at the eastern end of False Creek, Science World sits steps from BC Place, the city's World Cup venue, providing a fitting backdrop.
"We found it a great fit for us, especially with the
topic of this exhibition being about technology and all the professions that surround the game," Sebastian Munoz, Senior Exhibition Design Manager at Science World, told Reuters.
Visitors can explore five themed zones - Broadcasting and Media, Intelligent Data, Refereeing and Fair Play, Staging the Game, and Innovation Lab - each illustrating the role of technology in modern soccer.
The exhibition also features artefacts linked to the host nations.
"We really tried to localise the content to Vancouver and to the three nations that are hosting the World Cup, because people like to see things that are made and tailored for that experience and for this World Cup," Munoz said.
Munoz believes the exhibition can contribute to the sport's development in Canada.
"It will definitely, because it talks about the professions that surround the game. So you don't have to just be a soccer player to be involved in the FIFA World Cup. You can be any of the professions that surround it and that you're applying this technology to the game," he added.
Visitors said the exhibition deepened their appreciation of soccer.
"This was phenomenal," said visitor Rob Rose. "I wasn't sure what to expect, but to see the combination of the actual real-life soccer with the technology is fascinating. I'm a bit of a soccer geek anyways, and this is particularly fascinating to see all the behind-the-scenes innovation that is going on."
Other visitors echoed that sentiment.
"I really liked seeing soccer over the different stages, the new technology and looking inside the soccer ball," another visitor, Denise Chang-Yen, said.
"I really appreciated the inclusion of the women's side of the game as well, so I thought it was really a good thing to see it here today."
Soccer & Technology from the FIFA Museum runs at Science World until September 7.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Vancouver;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
