S 'n' S: World Cup - Jabulani

Jabulani: The official match ball




On the day of the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, the official ball for the competition has been unveiled. The adidas Jabulani, which means ‘to celebrate’ in isiZulu, is the 11th edition of adidas's FIFA World Cup balls.

The 11 colours on the Jabulani pay tribute to both football and the country in which Africa’s first-ever FIFA World Cup will be held. They represent a colour for each team player, every official South African language and for each of the 11 South African communities that will welcome the world next year. The design celebrates two of the most important facets of the South African nation - diversity and harmony - as it is these principles that make it such a colourful and welcoming nation.

Grip 'n' groove
Jabulani ushers in some major advances in football technology. Running your hands over the ball, the first impression is the grip’n’groove texture, which allows for maximum control, stable flight and perfect grip under all conditions.

The grip ’n’ groove’s profile circles twist around round the entire ball in an optimal aerodynamic way and the integrated grooves provide unmatched flight characteristics, making this the most stable and most accurate adidas ball ever.

Minimal seam, more perfection
As opposed to the flat-paneled molding of previous adidas footballs, Jabulani comprises eight thermally bonded 3D panels that have been, for the first time ever, spherically molded to make this ball a perfectly round football that is more accurate than ever before.

"According to the rigorous FIFA specification range for footballs, we have created a ball that is small and heavy allowing for maximum accuracy, perfect grip and exceptionally stable flight," said Thomas Van Schaik, the adidas Head of Global Public Relations.

A number of the world’s best players have echoed Thomas’s sentiment. Frank Lampard remarked: “It's a very strong ball, true to hit.” While on the receiving end of one of Lampard’s strikes goalkeeper Petr Cech said “You can feel the energy coming towards you, like a shot.”

Even though the perfectly round ball "is small and heavy allowing for maximum accuracy, perfect grip and exceptionally stable flight", many have blasted this ball for its erratic bounce and unpredictable flight results in stray passes and miskicks.
For goalkeepers, the consequences are even more dire. England keeper David James has described the Jabulani ball as "horrible", Spain's Iker Casillas says it is "rotten" and Gianluigi Buffon of Italy fears its "unpredictability" could ruin the World Cup.

In my opinion, I think the teams should just try to get used to it and not just blame the ball. In 2002, the Fevernova was too light and had too much spring. In 2006, the Teamgeist was unpredictable and swerved too much. And now, in 2010, everyone is blasting the Jabulani.