Football (ball)

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A football is a ball used to play one of the sports known as football.

As the term football has diverged, the name of the ball itself may refer to one of two basic shapes:

A sphere used in football/soccer (or "association football") as well as Gaelic football
An approximate prolate spheroid, which may be either:
- those with more rounded ends used in rugby football and Australian football
- the more pointed type used in American football and Canadian football

1 Association football (soccer)
2 American and Canadian football
3 Gaelic football
4 Rugby football
5 Australian football
6 Footnotes
7 Bibliography
8 External links

Association football (soccer)

Image:Trunc-icosa.jpg Image:Jakarta old football.jpg The ball used in Association 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. [1]

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 the Adidas Telstar, the official ball of the Mexico and Germany World Cup in 1970 and 1974. Its 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, such as the Nike Total 90 Aerow, have other more elaborate patterns.

Other configurations exist, such as the 26-panel Mitre PRO 100T, and the 14-panel Adidas Teamgeist. Traditional, pre-1970, balls were monochrome (brown or white); they 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. 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.

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. About 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 – see official website) - 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. <ref>Buse, Uwe (2006) "Die Stadt der Bälle". Spiegel 3/12/06: pg. 68-74. Template:De icon and the text of the Atlanta Agreement </ref>

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American and Canadian football

Image:Wilson American football.jpg In North America, the term football refers to a ball which is used to play American football or Canadian football. Nearly a prolate spheroid, it is slightly pointed at the ends, unlike the more elliptical rugby ball.

The ball is about 11 inches (28 cm) long and about 22 inches (56 cm) in circumference at the center. The exterior of the ball is made of leather, which is required in professional and collegiate football. Footballs used in recreation may be made of rubber or plastic materials.

Leather panels are usually tanned to a natural brown color, which is usually required in professional leagues and collegiate play. At least one manufacturer uses leather that has been tanned to provide a "tacky" grip in dry or wet conditions.

The leather is usually stamped with a pebble-grain texture to help players grip the ball. Some or all of the panels may be stamped with the manufacturer's name, league or conference logos, signatures, and other markings.

Four panels or pieces of leather or plastic are required for each football. After a series of quality control inspections to for weight and blemishes, workers begin the actual manufacturing process.

Two of the panels are perforated along adjoining edges, so that they can be laced together. One of these lacing panels receives an additional perforation and reinforcements in its center, to hold the inflation valve.

Each panel is attached to an interior lining. The four panels are then stitched together in an "inside-out" manner. The edges with the lacing holes, however, are not stitched together. The ball is then turned right side out by pushing the panels through the lacing hole.

A polyurethane or rubber lining called a bladder is then inserted through the lacing hole.

Polyvinyl chloride or leather laces are inserted through the perforations, to provide a grip for holding, hiking and passing the football.

Before play, the ball is inflated to an air pressure of 12.5–13.5 psi (86–93 kPa). The ball weighs 14–15 ounces (397–425 g).

Regardless of the material used in manufacturing, the ball is sometimes colloquially referred to as a pigskin.

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Gaelic football

Image:Gaelic football ball.jpg

Gaelic football is played with a spherical ball, roughly 25.4 cm (10 in) in diameter and 68.6 cm (27 in) to 73.7 cm (29 in) in circumference.[2] A dry ball weighs between 370 g (13 oz) and 425 grams (15 oz). Gaelic footballs are also the standard balls used in International rules football.

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Rugby football

Image:Rugbyball2.jpg The football used in rugby is a prolate spheriod essentially elliptical in profile. Traditionally made of brown leather, modern rugby balls are manufactured in a variety of colors and patterns. A regulation rugby ball is 28–30 cm (11–11.8 inches) long and 58–62 cm (22.8–24.4 inches) in circumference at its widest point. It weighs 410–460 grams (14.5–16.2 ounces) and is inflated to 65.71–68.75 kPa (or 9.5–10 psi). [3]

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Australian football

Image:Sherrin.png The football used in Australian football is similar to the rugby ball, however the Australian Football is generally slightly smaller, and of a more rounded shape. A regulation Football is 720–730 mm in circumference, and 545–555 mm transverse circumference, and inflated to a pressure of 62–76Kpa. In the AFL, the balls are red for matches that take place during the day, and yellow for matches that take place at night.

Brands of balls used include Burley, Ross Faulkner, and the brand used in the Australian Football League, the Sherrin.

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