The Science Behind Jabulani, Adidas's 2010 World Cup Soccer Ball

[Bitter]

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-12/science-behind-jubulani-adidass-2010-world-cup-soccer-ball

While the sporting world watched the clock for the high noon announcement of the brackets for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, we were salivating over another four-year tradition: the engineering and innovation that goes into the official World Cup ball. With the 2010 Cup's Jabulani ball (‘to celebrate’ in isiZulu), Adidas claims it has surpassed its own Teamgeist from 2006 in constructing the roundest and most accurate ball ever played. See how it's made inside.

And you thought a ball was just a ball? From the iconic 32 panel black and white Telstar introduced in Mexico City in 1970 to the latest unveiled today for South Africa, the goal for Adidas, naturally, has always been to build a better ball. Soccer players want a ball that feels good on the foot and flies predictably no matter where on the ball it’s struck. Teamgeist achieved its improvements by reducing the number of panels from 32 to just 12, by thermally bonding the panels thereby eliminating inaccurate stitching and by forming the outer panels in 3-D versus making them flat and bending them into shape.

Jabulani takes another step towards perfection with just eight EVA and TPU panels that provide a 70% larger striking surface due to fewer seams. While the Teamgeist ball was great for strikers, many goal keepers complained that the ball's aerodynamics created a lack of rotation in the air, making its path at times erratic, like a knuckleball. Jabulani attempts to stabilize the flight pattern of the ball through what Adidas is calling ‘aero grooves’, essentially long indentations along the panels. The grooves divide the ball up into additional pseudo-panels but by molding the grooves Adidas can achieve consistent location and shape to achieve optimal flight.

The surface of the ball has also been covered with raised nubbins to help with tactile feel on the foot.
While Adidas would not provide numerical flight data, it claims that robotic kicking and wind tunnel testing at Loughborough University in England and at its own football lab in Germany show that Jabulani is its most accurate ball. To be sanctioned FIFA Approved, a ball is only subject to a handful of more static tests, which the Jabulani ball obviously meets.

• Circumference: FIFA Standard: 68.5-69.5cm, Jabulani: 69.0 +/- 0.2
• Roundness: Diameter is measured in 16 different locations. FIFA Standard: max 1.5% difference, Jabulani: max 1.0% difference
• Water Absorption: A ball is pressed and rotated in water 250 times: FIFA Standard: max 10% weight increase. Jabulani: 0% weight increase
• Weight: FIFA standard: 420-445 grams, Jabulani: 440 +/- 0.2 grams
• Uniform Rebound: The only dynamic FIFA test, the ball is dropped ten times onto a steel plate from a two meter height. The difference from the lowest to the highest bounce can be no more than 10 cm. Jabulani bounced in a range from 143 to 149 cm.
• Loss of Pressure: Air pressure measured three days after inflation. FIFA Standard: 20% max loss, Jabulani: 10% max loss

For a unique look into complex manufacturing steps to create the ball, see the video below.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid27979966001?bctid=54234110001

[Touches]

Interesting article,

I find the 0% water retention stat impressive.

Now big clubs and teams use a match ball maybe once, but for the lay person like me who buying a ball to run in sweat how durable are they.

Usually after a one play it scuff up and the "coating" gone especially if you playing on the "pristine" dry season fields that we have in abundance in T+T.

I found the last teimgeist to be light and if you played with the lower end replicas it felt like a beachball, spongey spongey.

The best brand of ball I ever kick wasn't no nike or adidas or mitre....it was a brand called select.
Good cushion, bounce and durability. The high end  ball was called a "brilliant" clocking bout 100us and a good decent sweat ball was a numero 10 for about a 30$. Also the brand that coming second was a Brine...It was a US. highschool ball and it have a NHS stamp on it but the ball kicking good, spalding also had one...and they were not cheap about $100 US for one. 

[D.H.W]

them ball made for match use, certain not constant day in day out training.

[Daft Trini]

The higher end Nike and Adidas balls hold up well on well taken care pitches... you can get a year or more sweat out of these balls... I brought a couple back for some fete match and we played at Yara Ground and Skinner Park... the field with gravel and stone scuffed the ball, eventually there were slight tears... so far I hear the balls holding up but dey are deteriorating..... One good thing about these balls is that they does hold their shape...

De only ball I feel suited or trinidad was dem Mikasa that had the glue on pannels... when the ball worn de panels use to fall off and the ball use to come fuzzy... but dey use to hold up under any conditions... doh get ah bang from it doh...

[Daft Trini]

them ball made for match use, certain not constant day in day out training.

DC United uses a combo of match balls and training balls for everyday use... depends on the exercise the coaching staff requires...

[#4]

Interesting article,

I find the 0% water retention stat impressive.

Now big clubs and teams use a match ball maybe once, but for the lay person like me who buying a ball to run in sweat how durable are they.

Usually after a one play it scuff up and the "coating" gone especially if you playing on the "pristine" dry season fields that we have in abundance in T+T.

I found the last teimgeist to be light and if you played with the lower end replicas it felt like a beachball, spongey spongey.

The best brand of ball I ever kick wasn't no nike or adidas or mitre....it was a brand called select.
Good cushion, bounce and durability. The high end  ball was called a "brilliant" clocking bout 100us and a good decent sweat ball was a numero 10 for about a 30$. Also the brand that coming second was a Brine...It was a US. highschool ball and it have a NHS stamp on it but the ball kicking good, spalding also had one...and they were not cheap about $100 US for one. 

I agree- I remember the first time i played with that ball was about a month after '06 World Cup in a tournament final- the difference between kicking the teamgeist and the "mikasa" brand balls used earlier in that tournament was as blatant as the difference between jumping on the ground and jumping on a trampoline. It definitely took some getting used to- evidently my team couldn't get used to it fast enough that day

[D.H.W]

nah boy 1994 world cup ball Questra , i had this ball, i remember kicking this straight into a head wind and the ball blow right back , no joke , that ball was too light, any breeze blow the ball could sway unpredictably

[pecan]

nice post .. thanks