Scientific Feedback on 2010 FIFA World Cup Official Match Ball 'Jabulani'
Dr. Andy Harland, Lecturer in Sports Technology at Loughborough University
and Hans-Peter Nürnberg, adidas a.i.t comment on the adidas Jabulani, the OMB
for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Harland says the ball behaves differently at
altitude, the players will need to get used to it. Hans-Peter Nürnberg who
helped make the ball says particular-kicking techniques can achieve an erratic
flight. Includes comment and ball testing & manufacturing shots.
Dr. Andy Harland, Lecturer in Sports Technology at Loughborough University
says the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ official match ball behaves differently at
altitude. Dr. Harland who was responsible for doing independent tests on the
World Cup JABULANI ball believes players will need to get used to the ball which
will travel faster in Johannesburg than at sea level in Cape Town. The UK
scientific, an expert in the field of ball manufacturing, said “tests prove any
ball will travel at least 5% faster at a height of over one thousand seven
hundred meters.” Harland believes goalkeepers who are not used to the faster
pace of the ball are obviously suffering shorter reaction times in training.
Hans-Peter Nürnberg who helped make the adidas ball says particular-kicking
techniques can achieve an erratic flight. “We know players like Messi, like
Beckham, they are famous for their special kicking abilities so we know also
that they are able to deliver a special kick so that is sometimes the cause that
you see and the erratic flight of a ball.”
Asked about altitude Nürnberg admitted, “We cannot make different balls for
high altitude and sea levels so I think this is a special nature of the
tournament that different teams have to cope with that and they all know.”
The official FIFA tests include rigorous examinations of the
ball’s circumference, water absorption, weight, shape and size retention it’s
uniform roundness and loss of pressure. Detailed information on all these tests
and the FIFA criteria plus the results as to how the 2010 2010 FIFA World Cup™
official match ball ‘JABULANI’ performed are included in this document below. It
exceeded all of them.
Q. The ball conforms to FIFA criteria, why are goalkeepers complaining?
A. So many goal keepers are reacting to the fact that this is a different
ball they are experiencing differences in training and that is entirely expected
at altitude particularly where the ball is travelling faster through the air
perhaps the ball is arriving at the two or three diameters quicker than they
would have expected so it is perhaps natural that they are turning around and
saying that this ball is behaving differently.
Q. Can players cause the ball to react differently?
A. We know players like Messi, like Beckham, like Ronaldo so they are famous
for their special kicking abilities so we know also that they are able to
deliver a special kick so that is sometimes the cause that you see and the
erratic flight of a ball. Because that only occurs when the player provides no
spin to the ball so these straight kicks they are such a … to ball deflection to
trajectory deviation and here of course this ball I’d say encouraged a player to
go for more extreme shots because they have higher confidence that the ball
really does what they want it to do.
Q. Many top players say their kicking techniques can make the ball behave
erratically can this be true?
Absolutely as the players have developed their skill levels they are now able
to control the ball much more than ever before and particularly when players
kick with no spin you get the affect that the ball is a sphere coming into play.
There’s a well renowned aerodynamicist Dr. Kim Blair from MIT in Boston whose
been on record saying if you want the ball to behave aerodynamically then don’t
make it a sphere, make it something like an aircraft wing shape, because the
fact that this is a sphere means the ball will experience instabilities in
flight every ball does.
Q. How will the ball react to different climates and altitudes of South
Africa?
A. We are pretty aware of the different weather conditions, climate
conditions we could probably have in south Africa and also the difference in
altitude so certainly we know in high altitude reacts differently compare to see
level, but that is nothing we can change, we cannot change the ball design we
cannot give special balls for high altitude and sea levels so I think this is a
special nature of the tournament that different teams have to cope with that and
they all know we know the ball will travel a little faster in higher altitude
compared to sea level.
Official Match Ball Factory TESTING
Circumference test:
In order to calculate the average circumference,
each individual match ball is measured at 10 different points.
The FIFA Approved Standard: 68.5 cm – 69.5 cm
The adidas JABULANI: 69,0 cm (+/- 0,2 cm)
Permanent roundness test:
The more perfect the sphere is, the more
balanced a ball will be in flight, the higher will be its accuracy and the
predictability of its flight. The new 3D panel shape harmonizes the energy
displacement and minimizes the amount of corners, while the larger panels allow
for a cleaner kicking area. The diameter of the ball is measured in 16 different
places, after which the average is calculated. The difference between the
highest and the lowest diameter must be within very strict limits.
FIFA Approved Standard: max. 1.5% difference
The adidas JABULANI: max. 1.0% difference
Water absorption test:
A wet and heavy ball behaves quite differently
from a dry one. It flies through the air more slowly, has a low bounce and is
more difficult to curl. adidas’ patented Thermal Bonding technology makes a
football virtually waterproof. As a result the new Match Ball shows completely
homogenous performance characteristics when playing in dry or wet conditions.
For the water absorption test, the ball is pressed and rotated in a container of
water 250 times, after which the ball will be weighed. The water will also be
weighed before and after the water uptake test.
FIFA Approved Standard: Water absorption: no
more than 10% weight increase
The adidas JABULANI: Water absorption: 0 %
weight increase
Perfect weight test (420 – 445 grams):
Each professional game is played with a number
of balls. These different balls all need to perform the same. Consistency in
weight is crucial. If the ball is too light or too heavy, it might move
unexpectedly in flight.
FIFA Approved Standard: Weight between 420 and
445 grams
The adidas JABULANI: Weight 440 grams (+/- 2
grams)
Shape & size retention test:
During an average game the ball is kicked
approximately 2,000 times. However, in the last minute of overtime, the ball
needs to perform identically to the way it did in the first minute of the game.
In order to test the shape and size retention, the ball is fired against a steel
plate 2,000 times at 50 km per hour for the FIFA Approved hallmark. After this
test, only minimal changes in air pressure and roundness are allowed and the air
valve and stitching must remain undamaged.
FIFA Approved Standard: 2,000 cycles at 50 km
per hour
The adidas JABULANI: 3,500 cycles at 50 km per
hour
Drum test:
The drum test guarantees high quality and
durability of the printed surface. The JABULANI features the under-glass print
technology, the strongest surface material ever, guaranteeing the ball is
durable and will hold its unique look much longer.
Uniform rebound test:
For this test, the ball is dropped ten times
onto a steel plate from a height of 2 meters. The difference between the highest
and the lowest bounce must be no more than 10 cm.
Loss of pressure test:
If the ball loses air during the game, it will
be difficult to predict and may not respond consistently.
For this test, the ball is inflated fully and
three days later its air pressure is measured. It must not have lost more than a
specified percentage of its air.
FIFA Approved Standard: Loss of pressure max.
20%
The adidas JABULANI: Loss of pressure max. 10%
History of adidas footballs
adidas has been producing high-performance match balls since 1963 and is the
world’s leading football producer. Still, it took adidas well over three years
of extensive research and development to present the adidas +Teamgeist™, its
best performing ball ever. Thanks to a revolutionary 14-panel ball
configuration, players can now show their true skills, as the quality and
performance characteristics are exactly identical every time they kick the ball.The adidas Innovation Team (a.i.t) has rigorously tested the new Match Ball for
the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™, first under the toughest laboratory conditions
possible, later also with professional players and clubs on the field of play.
Scientific tests were conducted together with the Sports Technology Research
Group of the University of Loughborough, one of the leading institutions of its
kind worldwide. These tests confirmed that the adidas +Teamgeist™ is more round,
precise and consistent than any top competitor match ball.FIFA designed a quality concept to guarantee the highest standard of balls for
the best players in the world. Only after a series of stringent tests is a ball
awarded the “FIFA Approved” hallmark. Tests executed in the adidas football
laboratory in Scheinfeld and at the Testing Centre of the University of
Loughborough prove the adidas +Teamgeist™ does not only meet these “FIFA
Approved” standards, it exceeds practically each of them.
The robotic leg
The adidas football laboratory in Scheinfeld features a high-tech robotic leg
which is used for a variety of ball tests. The machine is able to repeat an
identical kick in the exact same angle and with exactly the same speed and
power, time and time again. Extensive tests conducted with the robotic leg show
that the +Teamgeist™ is 30% more accurate than top competitive balls tested. A
high-speed camera is set up parallel to the impact to analyze the impact on the
ball. The new 14-panel configuration, featuring fewer seams, makes the ball
perform significantly more uniformly, no matter where the ball is hit.
