History of football (soccer) balls

The history of association football balls is the history of the football (ball) in the game of association football. While football can be played with many makeshift balls, formalised balls are used in official matches and later used around the world.

Footballs produced nowadays are manufactured to the specifications of the Laws of the Game, specifically Law 2.

History

Early history

Early footballs were made out of animal bladders, more specifically pig's bladders, which were inflated. Later leather coverings were introduced to allow the ball to keep their shape. Soccer Ball World - Early History (Accessed June 9 2006)

Rubber footballs

Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber in 1836; the vulcanised rubber allowed balls to have a regular shape, so that the behaviour of the ball would be consistent. In 1855 Goodyear produced the first football created of rubber. The first inflatable rubber bladder was later created by a Mr Lindon, after his wife died due to lung disease caused by blowing up pig's bladders The exact name of Mr Lindon is in dispute, as well as the exact timing of the creation of the inflatable bladder. It is known that he created this for both association and rugby footballs. However sites devoted to association football indicate he was known as HJ Lindon and created the ball in 1862 (ref: Soccer Ball World), whereas rugby sites refer to him as Richard Lindon creating the ball in 1870 (ref: Guardian article). Both agree that his wife died when inflating pig's bladders. This information orginated from web sites which may be unreliable, and the answer may only be found in researching books in central libraries..

Standardised footballs

In 1863 the first specification for footballs were laid down by The Football Association. In 1872 the specifications were revised, and these rules have been left essentially unchanged as defined by the International Football Association Board (for more information see Football (ball)). Differences in footballs created since this rule came into effect has been to do with the material used in their creation.

Footballs throughout the 20th century

Progressive developments in footballs were made throughout the 20th century. Over time the leather used in football was replaced by synthetic materials - the leather was prone to absorbing water so changing the nature of the ball during games. Furthermore the laced balls were replaced by footballs using a valve for inflation. Soccer Ball World - Soccer balls in the 1900s (Accessed June 9 2006)

Footballs in the latter half of the 20th century tended to have a distinct black and white chequered design. This was brought to prominence with the Adidas "Telstar" ball, which was used for the 1970 FIFA World Cup and had a "Buckyball" (truncated icosahedron) design of 20 white hexagons and 12 black pentagons The Guardian, June 5 2006, World Cup 2006 (Special supplement), p89. This design has influenced the production of footballs since.

About 80% of all association footballs are made in Pakistan.

Future developments in football construction

Companies such as Mitre, Adidas, Nike and Puma are releasing footballs made out of new materials which promise more accurate flight and more power to be transferred to the football. Soccer Ball World - 2000 and Beyond (Accessed June 9 2006)

Footballs used in competitions

Many companies throughout the world produce footballs. However Adidas has supplied match balls for all official FIFA and UEFA matches since the 1970s, and also will supply the match balls for the 2008 Olympic Games Soccer Ball World - Team Geist (Accessed June 9 2006) . They also supply the ball for the UEFA Champions League, the Adidas Finale.