(Photo: MTI/Tamás Kovács)

Ronaldinho, who won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2004 and 2005, is the global ambassador for the new sport.

Inventor Gábor Borsányi said he hoped Teqball could become an Olympic sport within 20-30 years.

Viktor Huszár, who engineered the game and its equipment, said Teqball, which took three years to develop, could complement the sport of football.

Teqball players pass a football across a gently curved surface that resembles a reinforced ping-pong table. Contact with the other player or the board is not allowed, minimizing the risk of injury.

Teqball is funded by Docler Holding, a diversified group of companies founded and owned by the Hungarian György Gattyán, who made a fortune in online adult content.