I caught the tail end of a local football show on television last night which featured an insert about the Jabulani, the official match ball to be used at this year’s FIFA World Cup™ to be held in South Africa.
Adidas Jabulani - Official Ball of 2010 FIFA World Cup
According to the insert the Jabulani is the 11th official match ball designed for use at the event (more about that in just a sec) and is the most technically advanced ball produced to date. I was keen to know more and went on a quick mission to dig up some intel about the Jabulani…
History
In a statement released to FIFA.com Adidas stated that from as far back as the first ever Adidas FIFA World Cup™ ball, the Telstar used at Mexico 1970, Adidas have been dedicated to propelling football technology into the future, always innovating and never settling for the ordinary.
Although we’ve come a long way since that first 32 white and black panelled Telstar to the eight-paneled synthetic masterpiece that is ‘Jabulani’, Adidas have successfully maintained a standard which resonates with their core value "impossible is nothing."
Design
Exploded view of Adidas Jabulani - via SoccerBallWorld.com
According to an article on HyperBeast, Adidas and FIFA officially unveiled the Jabulani as the Official Match Ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa on On January 4, 2009. The ball is made up of only eight, thermally bonded 3-D panels, which for the first time in history, are spherically moulded to ensure the Jabulani is perfectly round and evenly weighted, making it the most accurate ball that Adidas have ever produced. A new "Grip ‘n Groove" profile has been developed to provide players with a ball which offers an exceptionally stable flight and perfect grip under all weather conditions.
The article also went on to explain that the name "Jabulani" originates from the Bantu language isiZulu, one of the eleven official languages of the Republic of South Africa, which literally translated, means "to celebrate."
The Jabulani design features eleven different colours representing the eleventh Adidas ball produced for the FIFA World Cup™. These eleven colours are also said to be representative of the eleven players in every team, the eleven official languages of South Africa and the eleven South African tribes that make the country one of the most ethnologically diverse countries in Africa. The colorful design of the Jabulani and the four triangle-shaped design elements on the white base colour ensure that the ball retains a unique African spirit.
So that’s it for the Jabulani, the most technically advanced football known to man. I’m definitely going to see if I can get my hands one – as long as it’s not as expensive as the last one, I am good to go. I see that most of our local Cape Town sports retailers are stocking them.
Thanks for taking time out to chill out and visit, enjoy the weekend and feel free to let me know what you thought of the post. I have decided to work on my writing skills in 2010 and would really appreciate the feedback.
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