The origins of soccer can be traced back to 2nd century BC during the Han Dynasty, when the game was played. Cuju, a sport resembling hacky sack, is cited by FIFA as the world鈥檚 first 鈥渒icking game.鈥� Cuju resembles modern soccer gameplay in its . Two teams face off, each with the common goal of getting the ball through a little hole in the opposing team鈥檚 net. Unlike in soccer, the ball cannot touch the ground during play. Like modern soccer, players can play the ball off any part of their body - except for their hands. The cuju ball is an early ancestor of the soccer ball in both appearance and construction. This simple ball consisted of a leather pouch stuffed with feathers and wool to give it shape.
Then came , created in the Roman Empire. Despite resembling a sport more akin to American football, the balls used in this game originally were created through stuffing leather pouches with sand and feathers. In later iterations, the balls would contain animal bladders that were blown up by mouth.
From the Romans until 1863, soccer balls were constructed using animal bladders. First, these bladders were dried and processed. Then, they were inflated and covered in the leather from the pig or bull to whom the bladder belonged. Talk about using the whole animal! While these balls were lighter and bouncier, they were still fairly bumpy and varied in size. This had to do with the shape of the bladders and the size of the animals used. While there were many issues with the construction of this soccer ball, it provided a crucial framework for the modern soccer ball. It wouldn鈥檛 be until 1863 that the newly formed Football Association would outline the first specifications to standardize soccer balls.
Thanks to Charles Goodyear and his discovery of 鈥� the process of turning rubber from a sticky substance to an elastic, durable, and heat-resistant one 鈥� society was gifted two critical things: tires and soccer balls. While the synthetic rubber bladder changed the game, literally and figuratively, there was still a problem with the leather covering of the balls. The leather covering the balls were cut from different parts of the cow鈥檚 hide, and patterns used for stitching were not uniform. Further, the leather naturally soaked up water, increasing its weight during play, changing the shape of the ball during the game, and the stitching on the ball was said to hurt players鈥� heads. While this, of course, made it difficult for field players, the biggest losers were the goalkeepers. In the air, ball trajectories were extremely unpredictable, leading to goalie errors and easily preventable goals.
Frustrated by this, Danish goalie took matters into his own hands. Nielsen began experimenting with leather, constructing the outer layer like a puzzle. With each panel, he would moisturize and stretch them to prevent them from deforming. He also added a valve to the bladder so the ball would no longer have to be unlaced and blown up manually. Nielsen was successful in his endeavor, developing the truncated icosahedron. This was a 32-panel ball using 12 identical pentagons and 20 identical hexagons. Despite not being a perfect sphere, this ball revolutionized the game and, as of 1946, was the dominant ball design until 2006.
Sometimes, however, a design can only improve so much. While it may seem plausible that the perfect ball shape is a perfect sphere, the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa proved otherwise. The Jabulani Ball, constructed using thermally bonded patches rather than stitching, was considered by players and critics to be 鈥渢oo perfect.鈥� Because its patches were bound without stitching, the ball had an exceptionally smooth surface. The Jabulani ball was developed as an improvement over its predecessor, The Teamgeist, which featured 14 bonded panels (rather than the traditional 32) and was used in the 2006 World Cup. However, the Jabulani ultimately performed worse.
In response to this game ball, there was large outcry. With goalies calling the ball Adidas faced much backlash for this product. The Jabulani鈥檚 unpredictable behavior was due to its knuckleball effect. Since knuckleballs have very little spin as they fly through the air, they typically behave due to how air flows around the ball. This becomes especially relevant when the ball reaches its critical speed. At this speed, the airflow around the ball is unstable, which causes the forces acting on the ball to change unpredictably. The result? The ball taking an unexpected turn. For the 32-panel ball, this speed was 35mph, for the Teamgeist ball, 45mph, and for the Jabulani, 55mph. As this is the average shot speed used at the World Cup, there was no shortage of knuckleballs in 2010.
With this year鈥檚 World Cup ball, the Trionda, constructed with only four panels, curiosity circulated about its flight patterns during the tournament. As of the start of the round of 32, no major complaints have been made about the aerodynamics of this ball. In a study published in , researchers conducted wind tunnel and trajectory analysis experiments on the ball. Researchers found that despite only having four panels, the Trionda only had a critical speed of 28mph 鈥� the lowest of the balls used in the last five World Cups. This is likely due to the roughness of the surface of the ball.
It is not only the outside of the balls that are being innovated, but the insides too. The Trionda features a that provides referees with highly accurate data within seconds. With new balls designed for each tournament, this household object is forever evolving鈥� and getting more expensive! As someone who enjoys a good pickup soccer game here and there, a cheap ball will do just fine. No sensors required.
Eva Kellner is a recent graduate from the Faculty of Arts and Science, with a major in Environment. Her research interests include urban green spaces, urban agriculture, and outdoor community spaces - all as promoters of climate resilience among city-dwellers.
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