ORIGIN OF THE SOCCER BALL

 

The soccer ball is the element around which this sport revolves. Over time, its shape and composition have changed to achieve the greatest possible sphericity and aerodynamics and allow for a more precise game. The balls of today have nothing to do with those that were used decades ago . The development of this ball has been linked to the changes that football has undergone at the same time. A story that can be perceived by seeing the origins and evolution of the ball over the years in the world cups, its most representative (and important) tournament.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST SOCCER BALL?

Throughout history there have been various civilizations and peoples that used balls for different games or sports. For example, the Mesoamerican ball game or pok ta pok practiced by the Mayans more than 3,000 years ago already made use of a ball made with sap from the rubber tree. And is that the balls were part of the entertainment of many cultures.

However, when it comes to football as such, it is in the United Kingdom where this sport began to become popular in the 19th century . The English Football Association states that the balls should have a circumference of 70 centimeters and weigh between 350 and 400 grams.

The first soccer balls used at this time were made of leather and called de tiento because of the cord that closed the seams on the outside. Inside was a pig's bladder that was filled with hay, for example. They weren't completely spherical , they didn't bounce evenly, they had a bulge in the touch area that could even damage players. And also, if they got wet they were much heavier and difficult to control.

In the first World Cup in the history of football, the one held in 1930 in Uruguay, the primitive soccer balls that had a pig's bladder inside were used. In fact, in the final between the host country and Argentina, they used one made in each country for each of the parties.

In the years to come and in subsequent World Cups, the balls changed. The inner bladder that gave them consistency began to be replaced in the 1938 World Cup in France by an inflatable valve that allowed the ball to be inflated without having to unsew it. In turn, the panels with which they are made increase and the models that used the 18 panels appear in 1954 in Switzerland.

The segments that made up the contour and shape of the ball did not allow to make a ball that was too spherical, which reinforced its irregularity. In the year 62 , at the World Cup held in Chile, the Crack, the name of the official ball of this competition, changed the shape of its panels. They enlarged and changed their shape to have 12 hexagonal and six rectangular , which contributed to a more regular appearance. It also incorporated the latex valve that kept the air longer in its previous one. However, the rectangular segments returned to the traditional model in the year 66 in which it was the first ball created by a commercial brand: Slazenger.

The great revolution came in 1970 in the Mexican championship. Adidas became the brand that would create the ball for the World Cups and introduced the famous Telstar . This brought as a novelty that, even though it was made of leather, it had 32 polygonal segments and adopted the black and white color that would be established as the main one to facilitate being seen by the spectators.

Later, with the passing of the decades, the balls would evolve and these changes would be appreciated in those that were used in each Soccer World Cup.