The soccer ball used in the World Cup and in the different official competitions is regulated in its measurements by the Federation Internationale de Football Association. The ball must have the shape of a 99.9% truncated icosahedron, a circumference between 68 and 70 centimeters, a weight between 410 and 450 grams and its composition is based on 80% synthetic polyurethane and 20% secondary materials, sewn to hand and has seal FIFA QUALITY PRO.
Technological advances have allowed greater sophistication of ball control within the regulations of the sport for international competition. It is for this reason that Adidas has introduced al hilmthe official ball of the semifinals and the final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. This denomination, which in Arabic means “the dream”, is a new improved version of Al Rihla, which until now has been the official ball of the competition, .
With the latest advances in ball design and the same technology used to Al Rihla, adidas it will keep the same microchip installed inside the ball, but it will make the data arrive faster for the main judge’s final decision. The ball will be giving information in real time to the referees, who will be able to rely on the VAR to make the necessary determinations, thanks to the artificial intelligence system it has and the internal sensor.
The FIFA defines three different quality levels for soccer balls: FIFA approved, FIFA inspected Y Standard International Ball. All balls used in official competitions must include at least one of these three stamps. FIFA Approved being the most demanding certification of the three. To obtain any of these, the balls must pass a laboratory analysis. In this analysis, its weight, circumference, sphericity, pressure loss, water absorption and rebound are evaluated.
But technology was not always at the service of the most popular sport in the world. The ball of touch was the ball that was used in the past to play soccer matches, it was a rustic and heavy object, which grew if it was used on wet ground. At the end of the 19th century, it was practiced with a ball that, due to its characteristics, was far from being the one currently used in the most diverse parts of the world.
Testimonies from that time tell us about the problems presented by the old balls, whose main defect lay in a deformation that took away their balance and sphericity, causing them to bounce badly and become practically indomitable. This imperfection determined by the bulge that originated in them as a consequence of the necessary internal folding of the beak of the old cameras, was further accentuated with the thick strap or leather cord that was used to close the mouth of the ball, which in turn Sometimes it became a painful nuisance that the soccer players of that time were forced to endure and that could even hurt them when it was headbutted in the closing part of it.
However, evolution came from an Argentine invention. The ball without temptation, originally called super ballwas invented in Argentina, in the city of Bellville, Province of Cordobaand patented by Romano Polo, Antonio Tossolini and Juan Valbonesi on April 20, 1931. It was a ball with seams and an invisible spike,2 which was premiered at the 1950 World Cup organized in Brazil, and since 1936 as the official ball of the Argentine Football Association.
In 1963, the German sports equipment company Adidas began manufacturing balls and became the supplier of the World Cup since the 1970 edition, due to its advanced technology and high quality. He covered the leather with polyurethane: a flexible and unalterable synthetic material with cold, which gave it shine, resistance to abrasion, greater impermeability and kept its shape. In the 1986 edition the frame was replaced by synthetic leather with the Aztec.
In 1990 the Adidas Etruscan Sole which was the first 100% waterproof ball. Since then, manufacturers have sought to obtain the maximum circumference of the ball and achieved it for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, with the Adidas Jabulani. However, this achievement complicated the game of the footballers, especially the goalkeepers, who took time to get used to sudden changes in the direction of the ball because of the better spin. Currently, the circumference of the ball is 99.9% and it has grains for better adherence on headers, a technology created by Adidas for the rugby ball, but recently applied today.
by RN
Image gallery
