In 2035, the first competitive football match may take place on the moon.

In 2035, the first competitive football match may take place on the moon.

Engineers, technologists and other scientists representing the Institute of Engineering and Technology (UK) have developed the first set of rules for lunar football.

One of the goals of the project is to captivate and inspire young people, to show them what a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics can look like.

For the match on the moon, it is proposed to use a black and white ball, which will be one and a half times larger than usual. It should be made from a new generation of airgel, which will give it a spongy structure that will allow the ball to bounce off the ground without having air inside.

As equipment, an airtight suit with built-in knee and elbow pads will be issued. It will have a cooling and heating system and a sweat-wicking flannel lining. Helmets will have to provide the ability to communicate between players and coaches, display refereeing decisions and the state of the suit. The viewing angle is 180-270 degrees.

Lunar football will be a non-contact sport in which possession of the ball will only be possible through interception, not wrestling. Each team will have five players, they will be forbidden not only to make tackles, but also to play with their heads – in order to avoid damage to the equipment.

To form an even field, laser sintering technology will be used – shelling the surface, as a result of which dissimilar elements will melt and turn into a single layer. The playground is 32 meters long and 25 meters wide. The gates will also be enlarged – up to almost 11 meters wide and almost 3 meters high.

Referees will be present on the field only in the form of holograms. Physically, they will be at the station.

The match will be split into four ten-minute quarters with twenty-minute breaks in between for equipment maintenance.

The Institute of Engineering and Technology has announced a competition in which British children aged 4 to 13 are asked to design uniforms for the first extraterrestrial team, Moon Utd.