In the popular game of soccer or football, the most important piece of equipment is obviously the ball. Before the modern invention of the official soccer ball, the early history of the game mentions all sorts of improvised balls made of human heads, skulls, bladders and wrapped up cloths. In medieval times, stories tell about animal bladders mostly, which, progressively started being covered with leather to maintain the shape better and for a longer time. It was only with Charles Goodyear who, in 1836 patented vulcanized rubber and in 1855 designed and created the first vulcanized rubber balls, that we can say we are getting closer to the shape of the official soccer ball of the modern times. Then, inflatable bladders started being produced in 1862, after H.J. Lindon invented them.

There are significant features to consider if we are to consider the official soccer ball chronologically. There have been more than just one official soccer ball models used, at least in the 20th century and up to the present. Another aspect regarding the official soccer balls used in time is that of the manufacturing companies that have been entrusted to produce these items. Thus we will have in mind firms like Adidas, Nike, Brine or Puma that design soccer balls following the regulations and laws established by the international football organisms and associations (FIFA).

A first official soccer ball worth mentioning was Telstar, used in Mexico in 1970. Although they had started producing soccer balls just some seven years before, Adidas was accredited to design the official soccer ball for the FIFA World Cup of 1970. It was the first ball that had 32 black and white panels and it was more easily noticeable on black and white televisions. Two Adidas soccer balls were used in Germany, in 1974. Telstar was reissued with a new black ball to replace the previously gold branding. Then Adidas produced the official soccer ball in an all-black version which was named Adidas Chile, after an all-white ball that had been used in Chile in 1962. The materials and techniques from these first models were afterwards preserved in the 1970 releases.

Among the other balls that got the official soccer ball status there are: Tango Durlast 1978 with lots of elegance, passion and dynamism, Tango Espana, 1982 designed in natural leather, Azteca, Mexico 1986, the first polyurethane rain resistant coated ball, Etrvsco Unico, Italy, or in 1990 the first ball with an internal layer of black polyurethane foam, etc.

About the Author:

Jack Sawbridge started kicking the soccer ball at the age of seven. At the age of twelve he became a member of a soccer team. His passion in this kind of sports lead him to write various information about soccer balls. If this article interests you, you may want to read another article written by Jack about the different soccer ball sizes