FOOTBALL BALL

FOOTBALL BALL

DimensionsThe ball used in football (soccer) is called a football or soccer ball. Law 2 of the game specifies the ball to be an air-filled sphere with a circumference of 68–70 cm (or 27–28 inches), a weight of 410–450 g (or 14–16 ounces), inflated to a pressure of 60–110 kPa (or 8.5–15.6 psi), and covered in leather or "other suitable" material. The weight specified for a ball is the dry weight: older balls often became significantly heavier in the course of a match played in wet weather. The standard ball is a Size 5. Smaller sizes exist; Size 3 is standard for team handball; others are used in underage games or as novelty items.

Construction A truncated icosahedron (left) compared to an association football/soccer ball.Most modern balls are stitched from 32 panels of waterproofed leather or plastic: 12 regular pentagons and 20 regular hexagons. The 32-panel configuration is similar to the polyhedron known as the truncated icosahedron, except that it is more spherical, because the faces bulge due to the pressure of the air inside. The first 32-panel ball was marketed by Select in the 1950s in Denmark. This configuration became common throughout Continental Europe in the 1960s, and was publicised worldwide by the Adidas Telstar, the official ball of the 1970 World Cup.

Older balls were usually stitched from 18 oblong non-waterproof leather panels, similar to the design of modern volleyballs and Gaelic footballs, and laced to allow access to the internal air bladder. This configuration is still common, as are more novel ones, such as the 26-panel Mitre PRO 100T, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup football, the 14-panel Adidas +Teamgeist (a truncated octahedron). There are also indoor footballs, which are made of one or two pieces of plastic. Often these have designs printed on them to resemble a stitched leather ball.
PatternsThe design of black pentagon/white hexagon was intended for maximum visibility on monchrome television sets. It has become the archetype, still used for generic balls and symbolic representations of the game. However, premium branded balls have other more elaborate patterns. The Nike Total 90 Aerow has rings intended to aid goalkeepers to determine the spin on the ball. "Official replicas" of the Teamgeist have its 14-panel pattern superimposed on a cheaper 28-panel ball. Older balls were monochrome: originally brown; and later white, especially for floodlit matches. Brightly-coloured balls are used on snow-covered pitches.
Child labourAbout 80% of association footballs are made in Pakistan. 75% of these (60% of all world production) are made in the city of Sialkot. In the past child labor was often used in the production of the balls. In 1996, during the European championship, activists decided to press this issue. This eventually led to the Atlanta Agreement, which forced ball manufacturers to make sure no child labor was involved in the fabrication of their products. This also led to a centralisation of production, which on the one hand would make it easier for the Independent Monitoring Association for Child Labor (IMAC[2]) - an organization created to watch over the Atlanta Agreement - to make sure no child labor occurred, on the other hand often forced workers to commute further to get to work. Now the production takes place primarily in small workshops and factories and is now totally Child-Labour free. Pakistan & FootballsThe official World Cup Footballs for Germany 2006 matches were made in Thailand. For the first time since 1970, Adidas decided to get the “match” balls made outside Pakistan, as they were machine pressed instead of handmade. However, the “to be sold” balls were made in Pakistan by hand.
The city of Sialkot in Pakistan had been supplying the official World Cup balls as well as 80% of the total footballs consumed in the entire world. This year, although the balls used in the World Cup did not come from Pakistan, the World Cup balls marketed by Adidas were made in Pakistan.

This year Adidas manufactured 32 million "Teamgeist" balls in Pakistan where as the quantity required was roughly 60 million. The factories in Sialkot even today run over time shifts to finish the orders that have shot up due to the World Cup. The reason Adidas depends so much on the Sialkot sports manufacturing industry is for its superior quality balls which Adidas has been able to maintain through its constant and personal supervision, training and inspection of the manufacturers.

FOOTBALL