What Is OmegaBall? Rules Of Soccer's Newest Format Explained
The first ever OmegaBall Championships were televised on Fox Sports 2 this week.
'Team Smoke' were the inaugural men's champions, while 'Orange Crush' won the Women's Championship.
The matches actually took place in March but were shown via a delayed broadcast.
But what is OmegaBall?
According to the sport's website OmegaBall is "a brand-new game that will revolutionize competitive soccer".
That is perhaps overselling it.
Nevertheless, OmegaBall does look like a lot of fun and those behind it are clearly serious about the game's growth.
A six-week men's and women's pro season is already scheduled for November 2023.
What are the rules?
A match of OmegaBall involves three teams, each with five players, including a goalkeeper.
Each team has a goal to defend. Those goals are spread evenly around the outside of a circular pitch.
The distance between each goal to the center spot is approximately 30 yards.
Teams earn a point for every goal they score against an opponent, but do no lose points for goals conceded. If a team scores an own goal, each of the other two teams earns a point.
The winner of each match is the team who scores the most goals/points.
There are no throw-ins, only 'corners', despite the game being played in a circle. These corners are taken from just inside the touchline, with three corner zones marked out between the goals.
Matches last 45 minutes and are made up of three 15-minute periods.
After a goal is scored, play immediately resumes with the goalkeeper who has just conceded - similar to a basketball restart.
There are no offsides in OmegaBall and cherry-picking is encouraged, as are "vulture plays". This is the term given to a move that involves hijacking a rival team's attack by stealing the ball and scoring a goal for your team instead.
An aerial view of an OmegaBall pitch taken during the sport's first ever men's championship game in 2022
Who created OmegaBall?
OmegaBall is the brainchild of Anthony Dittmann.
The game's official website explains that he "spawned the idea of OmegaBall after speaking with friends and former ESPN colleagues, Bob Funk and Jamie Hemann.
"The three were strategizing about a new American Football League when the conversation turned to traditional football or soccer. Anthony’s background in X Games and sports television led him to remove rules and rethink the linear nature of soccer.
"The addition of a third team to create even more action was natural and thus, OmegaBall was born!"