What do you get when you cross the “play” of soccer, with the substitution style of hockey and the pace of a high scoring NBA game? The answer is OmegaBall.
It’s a fast-growing sport already catching on around the world. Tournaments have been played in Europe, Brazil, the Caribbean Islands and around the United States, where the idea was originally hatched.
Co-Founder Anthony Dittman came up with the idea for the sport when he was chatting with some friends about the lack of scoring in soccer, and trying to explain how the offside rule in the beautiful game works. Thus, the idea to add a third team and shrink the size of the field was the springboard for what you see in OmegaBall today.
The game is played on a round field which fits inside the half of a regulation soccer field. There are three teams on the field, with three regulation size soccer goals as well...but, just one ball. The idea is to defend your own goal, while coming up with the right strategy to attack either of the other two goals over the course of three 13 minute periods. Each team fields four players and a goalkeeper, with the opportunity to sub players on the fly at a moment’s notice during play. There are no throw-ins, no offsides, and goalkeepers are encouraged to score. Speaking of scoring, there are 10 times the amount of goals you might see in a regular soccer match. The end result: “chaos on the pitch!”
New sports are popping up all the time. While some gain traction immediately, others take time to gain momentum and become part of sports culture. OmegaBall is currently somewhere in the middle of that growth curve and gaining popularity everyday. OmegaBall has aired on ESPN2, Fox Sports and has streamed on YouTube and Twitch and YouTube. The sport recently broke new ground with the first ever OmegaBall World Invitational at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Park in Orlando, Florida. The championship game included Team Spain, Team World and Team USA vying for a cash prize of over $10,000 for the winner. The game - won by Team USA - was broadcast live on ESPN2 as part of “The Ocho Day” coverage.
While the sport of OmegaBall continues to grow in popularity around the globe, Dittman and his team are still searching for the right corporate partner to take things to new heights. Dittman’s belief in the idea and the potential for growth in OmegaBall has never wavered. What’s not to love about a sport that can have 30+ goals, including from a goalkeeper, big defensive stops, physical play and all in the span of one hour?
Former Canadian national women’s soccer star Lauren Sesselmann, a bronze medallist at the 2012 Olympics is listed on the sport’s website as an advisor.
To learn more about the next event, or how you can get involved go to www.omegaball.com
Mark Rogondino is the Voice of OmegaBall and AppleTV talent.
Follow: @therealrogo
