FIFA 2010 World Cup Ball

Just as we expect to have a new location every four years for the FIFA world cup we have been getting used to also have a new ball design as the official match ball.

For FIFA World Cup in Germany during 2006 the official match ball was called "Teamgeist" this is the German word for "Team Spirt". Adidas reported that "The fine gold accents along the rounded propellers are inspired by the golden FIFA World Cup Trophy. The revolutionary new panel shape is designed to minimize corners and to create a more homogenous system in terms of performance and look. The radiant lines of the graphics surrounding the propeller shape symbolize movement and energy. Thanks to Adidas innovation team designer Scott Tomlinson from England and German category designer Anatol Just, Teamgeist combines everything needed to become a state-of-the-art product."

The 2010 Match Ball

On December 4th, Adidas and FIFA officially unveiled the "JABULANI", the Official Match Ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. This means "to celebrate" in Zulu, one of the eleven official languages in South Africa.

The 2010 match ball consists of no less than 11 different colors. Apparently it was the number of colors was selected, one for each of the 11 players who take the field per team as well as in recognition to the 11 official languages of South Africa,

According to Adidas the ball was designed to "lend the ball a unique appearance in African spirit. Like the outer facade of Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium, individual design elements capture the colorfulness of South Africa."

Being the official match ball it will be used in all of the games played in South Africa to determine the champion for 2010.

The ball is covered in small aero grooves that is called the 'Grip'n'Groove' design. According to Adidas the newly developed "Grip'n'Groove" profile provides the players with a ball that allows for exceptionally stable flight and perfect grip under all conditions.

The construction of the ball comprises of only eight thermally bonded 3-D panels. For the first time the 3-D panels are spherically molded resulted in the ball being perfectly round that theoretical will result in an even more accurate ball than before.

The design also enhanced the "goose bumps" effect that was first introduced in the 2008 European Championships. That will apparently give the ball a "more futuristic texture and extensive grip."

Player Opinion

According to Real Madrid's Brazilian superstar Kaka the contact with this particular ball is great, an important aspect of a good ball. Other players such as Michael Ballack, Petr Cech and Frank Lampard agreed that the ball was "fantastic."

On the other hand the Brazil striker Luis Fabiano said that the ball behaves very weirdly. He said that the ball changes trajectory without warning, almost as if it did not want to be kicked.

The Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar said that he thought the ball was "terrible" and compared it to cheap plastic supermarket balls.

Conclusion

Whether the ball is "good" or "bad" will only be discovered during the pool stages of the 2010 FIFA world cup. One hopes that this radical design does not have a determining impact on the outcome of the competition.

It is safe to say that once the competition is over the winners will think and some may even say that it was a great new design and the losers may have the opposite opinion.

©Carl Marx