In the popular game of soccer or football, the most important piece of equipment is obviously the ball. Before the modern design of the official soccer ball, you should know that in the beginnings of the sport the ‘ball’ used was either a human head, a human or animal skull, an animal bladder, stitched up cloth, or an animal-skin ball. In the Middle Ages, inflated animal bladders were the most frequently used balls, and gradually they started being covered in leather. Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber in 1836 and became the father of the first official soccer ball in 1855. Then, in 1862, H. J. Lindon developed one of the first inflatable bladders for balls and he is also known to have invented the rugby ball, although he did never patent it.

official world cup soccer ball

There are significant features to consider if we are to consider the official soccer ball chronologically. Periodically, the producer of the official ball changes, although the basic quality standards remain the same. Another aspect regarding the official soccer balls used in time is that of the manufacturing companies that have been entrusted to produce these items. Thus we will have in mind firms like Adidas, Nike, Brine or Puma that design soccer balls according to the rules and regulations established by the international football organisms and associations (FIFA).

official soccer balls

A first official soccer ball worth mentioning was Telstar, used in Mexico in 1970. Adidas started to produce soccer balls in 1963; they created the first official FIFA World Cup ball in 1970. It was the first ball that had 32 black and white panels and it was more easily noticeable on black and white televisions. Two Adidas soccer balls were afterwards launched in Germany, in 1974. Telstar appeared again with a new black ball to replace the previously gold branding. Then Adidas introduced a new all-black version of the official soccer ball which was named Adidas Chile, after an all-white ball that had been used in Chile in 1962. The materials and techniques from these first models were afterwards preserved in the 1970 releases.

official soccer ball

To count some more of the balls that have won the official soccer ball status there are: Tango Durlast 1978 with lots of elegance, passion and dynamism, Tango Espana, 1982 made real leather, Azteca, Mexico 1986, a premiere of polyurethane rain resistant coated ball, Etrvsco Unico, Italy, or in 1990 the first ball with an internal layer of black polyurethane foam, etc.

The choice of the world cup soccer ball is the result of careful analysis, lots of monitoring, plenty of testing and approval procedures. The fact that companies have their soccer balls tested for guaranteed quality shows value for money and respect for customers. The world cup soccer ball will be manufactured in thousands of copies and sold on the international market and all the items belonging to such lines correspond to the criteria necessary for receiving the FIFA Approved or FIFA Inspected logos. Even indoor soccer matches rely on pre-tested and pre-approved gear, following the same quality and inspection standards.

world cup soccer balls

Before the world cup soccer ball can be chosen, a certain procedure standard has to be carried out. Every manufacturing company that requires the FIFA Inspected status needs to submit seven balls, or if they need the FIFA Approved logo, then ten samples will be necessary. The testings are run at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The world cup soccer ball can only be chosen from the FIFA approved products, as the FIFA Inspected ones don’t have the same high standard quality. Besides such approvals, there is a less demanding one known as the International Matchball Standard, which can be granted by any of the seven European test institutes that work with FIFA.

official world cup soccer ball

The world cup soccer ball needs to pass seven types of tests that aim at analyzing the potential of the ball. The seventh test checks the shooting features such as size and shape retention as well as the pressure change during the shoot. The only acceptable pressure loss level for the FIFA approved variant is 20% while for the FIFA Inspected standard there could be a 25% pressure loss as such.

world cup soccer ball

The world cup soccer ball used at the 2008 Olympic Games was manufactured by Adidas, the official sports partner for the Beijing Games. An incredibly popular souvenir to many people, this Olympic world cup soccer ball had gold Chinese characters reading China. The competition for the choice of the next world cup soccer ball models continues and producers make incredible efforts to improve design and improve ball features continuous. New modern materials become an important part of the production, and superior features are constantly developed. Thus, the flight accuracy, the waterproofness, the force of the kicking transfers and many others will change the perspective on the future world cup soccer ball.