The History of the Official FIFA World Cup Match Balls

Footballs have gone through a dramatic change over time. Earlier balls were normally made from an outer shell of leather filled with cork shavings. Another method of creating a ball was using animal bladders for the inside of the ball making it inflatable. However, these two styles of creating footballs made it easy for the ball to puncture and were inadequate for kicking. It was not until the 19th century that footballs developed into what a football looks like today.Lets look at the various balls used for the Fifa World cup and see how it developed into the present form.

1. World Cup 1970 Official Ball: Telstar by Adidas The first ball with a black and white pattern used in the FIFA World Cup finals. It was painted with black and white panels so it was more visible on black-and-white television. It was the first World Cup ball to use the truncated icosahedrons or bucky ball for its design, consisting of 12 black pentagonal and 20 white hexagonal panels, which later became the regular design of a football. Older balls had consisted of groups of stripes, similar to the configuration of the modern volleyball. Although made of leather; it still had relative water resistant qualities provided by its shiny durlast coating.

   Match Ball '70

2. World Cup 1974 Official Ball: Telstar Durast by Adidas It was one of two official match balls of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, along with the Chile. The similar Telstar Durlast was the official ball of the 1974 FIFA World Cup held in West Germany.
   

   Match Ball '74

3. World Cup 1978 Official Ball: Tango by Adidas It introduced a new design which would be used for the next twenty years: Twenty identical panels with ‘triads’ created the impression of 12 circles. It was the most expensive ball in history, at the time, with a £50 price tag. Like its predecessors, the Adidas Tango Durlast was made of genuine leather and boasted the shiny waterproofing Durlast coating.
   

   Match Ball '78

4. World Cup 1982 Official Ball: Tango Espana by Adidas Adidas introduced a new ball which had rubber inlaid over the seams to prevent water from seeping through. The first ball with water-resistant qualities. General wear from kicking however meant the rubber began to wear after a short time and needed to be replaced during the game. The last genuine leather world cup ball.
   

   Match Ball '82

5. World Cup 1986 Official Ball: Azteca Mexico by Adidas The FIFA World Cup Mexico, saw the introduction of the first polyurethane coated ball which was rain-resistant. The first synthetic match ball, with good qualities on hard and wet surface.
   

   Match ball '86

6. World Cup 1990 Official Ball: Etrusco Unico by Adidas It was the official match ball of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy and the Euro 1992 in Sweden. The name and intricate design took their inspiration from Italy’s ancient history and the fine art of the Etruscans. Three Etruscan lion heads decorate each of the 20 Tango triads.
   

   Match Ball '90

7. World Cup 1994 Official Ball: Questra by Adidas It was enveloped in a layer of polystyrene foam. This not only made it more waterproof but allowed the ball greater acceleration when kicked. The new game ball felt softer to the touch. Improved ball control and higher velocity during play.
   

   Match ball '94

8. World Cup 1998 Official Ball: Tricolore by Adidas By 1998, FIFA World Cup France was played with a ball which sported the French red-white-blue tri-color. A complete departure from the old traditional black and white pattern. The first official World Cup soccer ball that was in color. The TRICOLORE used underglass print technology with a thin layer of syntactic foam.
   

   Match ball '98

9. World Cup 2002 Official Ball: Fevernova by Adidas This ball was notoriously criticized for being too light, yet some spectacular goals were scored with it during the tournament. The ball was also blamed for a number of upsets that happened in he knockout stages. “A ridiculous kiddy’s bouncing ball” Gianluigi Buffon Goal Keeper, Italy.
   

   Match Ball '02

10. World Cup 2006 Official Ball: +Teamgeist by Adidas ??The ball was designed by the Adidas Innovation Team and the Molten Corporation and is made by Adidas. The +Teamgeist ball differs from previous balls in having just 14 curved panels (making the ball topologically equivalent to a truncated octahedron), rather than the 32 that have been standard since 1970. In another first, the panels are bonded together, rather than stitched. It is claimed to be rounder and to perform more uniformly regardless of where it is hit, and being almost waterproof, it does not change performance as much when wet.
    

    Match Ball '06

11. World Cup 2010 Official Ball: Jabulani by Adidas On December 4th, adidas and FIFA officially unveiled the adidas “JABULANI”, the Official Match Ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The “JABULANI”, which means “to celebrate” in isiZulu, features a South African inspired design and radically new technology.Eleven different colors are used in the Adidas “JABULANI”, the eleventh Adidas World Cup ball. These 11 colors represent the 11 players in every team, the 11 official languages of South Africa and the 11 South African communities that make the country one of the most ethnologically diverse countries on the African continent. The colorful design brings together the tremendous diversity of the country in harmonious unity. Four triangle-shaped design elements on a white background lend the ball a unique appearance in African spirit. And like the outer facade of Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium, individual design elements also capture the colorfulness of South Africa.
    

    Match Ball '10

What did the players have to say:

Michael Ballack: “Fantastic, the ball does exactly what I want it to.”

Petr Cech: “You can feel the energy coming towards you, like a shot.”

Frank Lampard: “A very strong ball, true to hit.”

Kaká: “For me, contact with the ball is all-important, and that’s just great with this ball.”