Flashing LED drones race by the air, the gang cheers, and the referee’s whistle pierces the noise: welcome to Drone Soccer, the FAI’s first-ever team sport, a high-octane, high-tech model of soccer performed within the sky.
In this new head-to-head self-discipline, gamers work collectively in fast-paced matches, similar to in soccer or different conventional team sports activities.
A brand new type of team
The idea of a team isn’t new to air sports activities.
In disciplines resembling Formation Skydiving, teams carry out synchronised routines. The time period can be used for nationwide classifications derived from the person outcomes of athletes from the identical nation.
But Drone Soccer redefines what a “team” means in air sports activities. For the first time, two sides go head-to-head in a match format, every attempting to outscore the opposite in actual time.
Another innovation units this new air sport aside: pilot (or participant) substitutions. As in soccer, Drone Soccer groups can substitute pilots between units (although not throughout play), utilizing their two named substitutes strategically in response to the unfolding motion throughout the match.
Antonis Papadopoulos, President of the FAI Aeromodelling Commission (CIAM), mentioned:
“We’re very proud to introduce a type of competition that’s completely new to air sports. With substitutions, teams face new tactical challenges. They must read the match, anticipate their opponents’ strengths, and adapt their line-up between sets. But it also means managing different personalities and flying styles within the team, finding the right balance and cohesion to outperform the other side.”
A drone soccer team of 5 concentrate on the motion. Credit: Yong-chan NAM / KAMA
How do groups play drone soccer?
Drone Soccer is a fast-paced sport of talent, technique, and teamwork. Each aspect fields a number of drones — one in all which is designated because the “striker”, simply recognisable for spectators with its distinct lights. The striker’s purpose is to fly by the opponent’s hoop, a suspended ring simply barely bigger than the drone itself.
While the striker assaults, the opposite team members defend their very own purpose and block opposing drones. Success relies upon not solely on precision flying but in addition sturdy coordination and communication between the pilots, all at lightning pace.
Teams include as much as three gamers in Class B or 5 in Class A, every controlling their very own drone from the aspect of the pitch. All drones are enclosed in protecting spherical cages and illuminated in team colors.
Before every match, groups develop a tactical plan, assigning particular roles resembling striker or defender. They additionally construct and fine-tune their very own drones inside FAI technical laws to finest match their chosen technique.
A participant fine-tunes their tools set-up in preparation for a match. Credit: Yong-chan NAM / KAMA
How is drone soccer scored?
Matches are performed in three units, every lasting three minutes.
- The team that scores probably the most objectives in a set wins that set.
- The first team to win two units wins the match.
If a set ends in a tie — whether or not no objectives are scored or each groups are stage — the end result is set by a penalty shoot-out: three makes an attempt per team, the place the striker has 10 seconds to fly by the purpose whereas a defender from the opposing team tries to dam the shot.
If the match stays tied after penalties, a sudden-death set begins: the first team to attain wins.
Live scoring expertise. Credit: Yong-chan NAM / KAMA
How it began
Drone Soccer was created in Korea in 2016 as a method for drone pilots to benefit from the enjoyable of a team sport. Teams and rivalries developed and the sport unfold till the first worldwide competitions in 2019 when FAI classed it as an official air sport.
The inaugural Drone Soccer World Cup occurred in South Korea in 2023 and the first FAI World Championships is being held in Shanghai, China from 15-18 November 2025.
Follow the first FAI World Drone Soccer Championship
Header picture: Team photograph on the Drone Soccer World Cup in South Korea, 2023. Credit: Yong-chan NAM / KAMA