Jabulani: 2010 FIFA World Cup Match Ball

The tag of the ‘Official match ball of the 2010 FIFA World Cup’ goes to the Adidas Jabulani. Jabulani in isiZulu means ‘rejoice’, and that’s exactly what football fans all over the world will be eager to do after the performances of their national teams at the World Cup tournament in South Africa. The ball was launched in the South African city of Cape Town on December 4, 2009. The design of the ball was planned and developed at the United Kingdom’s Loughborough University. The Adidas Jabulani makes for the 11^th edition of official FIFA World Cup balls. The first official FIFA ball was introduced at the 1970 FIFA World Cup tournament. The Jabulani ball was the match ball of the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup tournament held in the United Arab Emirates. Also, Jabulani Angola, a customized version of the Jabulani, was used as the match ball of the 2010 African Cup of Nations tournament. Make your move; read on to know more on the Jabulani, the official ball of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament.

 

South Africa is a country that’s noted for its hospitality and its recently discovered ‘unity in diversity’. The colors on the Jabulani are aimed at representing South Africa as a country, and football as a sport. The eleven colors on the ball represent the 11 official South African languages and the eleven players of a football team. The colors on the ball also stand to symbolize the eleven communities that are a part of the culturally rich country of South Africa.

The Adidas Jabulani comprises eight three-dimensional, thermally-bonded panels that are molded from thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). With these implementations, it boasts of a completely new design. The aerodynamics of the Jabulani is supplemented with ‘grooves’ on its surface. This technology was developed by Adidas and was dubbed ‘GripnGroove’. The ball, on its surface, has four designs that resemble triangles; the triangles are juxtaposed against a white background.

The ‘Final’ of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in Johannesburg will be played with a gold version of the Jabulani. The South African city of Johannesburg is also known as ‘The Golden City’; that explains the reason behind the color of the ball to be used for the ‘Grand Finale’. The ball will be called ‘Jo’bulani’ and even boasts of gold panels. The Jo’bulani is only the second ball produced for the purpose of the final of a FIFA World Cup tournament. The first exclusive version was manufactured for the final of the 2006 World Cup tournament. The Adidas Jabulani balls were manufactured in China, using latex bladders made in India. The ball also comprises isotropic polyester/cotton fabric, ink, glue and ethylene vinyl acetate from China. Thermoplastic polyurethane-elastomer for the ball is sourced from Taiwan.

About the Jabulani, this is what Thomas Van Schaik, the Adidas Head of Global Public Relations had to say - “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.”