World's oldest football scanned for metaverse ahead of historic US trip in Miami

On June 24, 2026, the world’s oldest known football, dating back to around 1540, began its journey into the metaverse as specialists at the University of Glasgow started digitally scanning the artifact. On the same day, the historic ball made its first-ever physical trip to the United States to appear at the Scotland versus Brazil match in Miami.

The artifact, which is roughly the size of a small melon and much smaller than modern World Cup footballs, was originally discovered in the bedchamber of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Stirling Castle. It is normally housed permanently at The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum in Scotland.

Before departing for its exhibition in America, the fragile leather ball stopped at the University of Glasgow. There, 3D content specialists Conor Fraser and Ben Morris used advanced photogrammetry and digital artistry to capture the object. The project aims to create a highly precise, museum-quality digital twin of the 500-year-old ball.

This digital recreation will allow global audiences to interact with the artifact inside immersive virtual environments. While the physical ball must be kept safely behind glass, the virtual reality model can be scaled up, rotated, and explored in extreme close-up, letting users examine its scuffed leather surface and intricate stitching.

The scanning process utilizes cutting-edge heritage visualization workflows developed at the university’s Realities and Immersion Glasgow (RIG) center, alongside the "Wonder" virtual reality platform developed by university spin-out Infinite Muse. The Wonder platform was funded through the Museums in the Metaverse project under the UK Government’s Innovation Accelerator program.

Kirstie Campbell, Assistant Director of The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum, accompanied the football for its scanning and expressed excitement about using new technology to share the globally significant object with wider audiences. Faroque Hussain, the Honorary Consul of Brazil in Glasgow, also played a key role in initiating the concept of bringing the historic football into the metaverse.