A soccer ball is the ball used when playing soccer.
History[]
According to legend, soccer started in a gloomy setting during the middle ages. In England, "mob soccer" was played after executions. The head of the victim was thrown into the crowd and kicked around. Because of so many executions during that time, it's easy to figure out why the English claimed this sport as their own.
Since soccer balls date back to ancient times, it's clear that the soccer balls used then were made out of available materi
als. The Aztecs used small rubber balls in their mix of basketball and soccer: a game of hoop kicking. The Chinese warriors would sometimes enjoy a game of soccer using sewn up leather balls stuffed with lightweight materials. However, leather was used mainly for clothes, not to be wasted on a silly game of soccer.
The most common type of soccer ball was made out of animal bladder. Since pigs were a very abundant source of food for winter, their bladders were often taken out, cleaned, inflated, and used in a game of soccer.
Although pig-bladder soccer balls were very resistant, they were too light to play real soccer with. A game of "keep-the-ball-in-the-air" would be the most probable use.
When someone decided to use stuffed leather for soccer balls, the game really evolved.
Leather balls were harder, easily controlled, and durable- though not as elastic as the rubber balls used by the Aztecs. However, one of the most pressing issues of that period's soccer balls, either made of leather, rubber, or bladder, was that they were highly irregular in shape and size which made them hard to control.
Modern Balls[]
In 1836, Charles Goodyear improved soccer tremendously and patented vulcanized rubber. He later invented a vulcanized rubber soccer ball which took us one step forward in history. From 1855 until today, the history of the soccer game evolved immensely.
Modern technology and the rising popularity of soccer both worked together in bringing super soccer balls into our world.
Every four years, we introduce a new World Cup soccer ball. It has been a tradition to have a new and improved soccer ball at each World Cup, each with its own unique characteristics.
A picture showing various soccer balls used over time
For example, the World Cup soccer balls used in 2002 in Korea and Japan were lighter than those used as standard before and made out of a material that would be easily controlled.
In 2006 at the Germany World Cup, a new soccer ball was introduced, which made many goalkeepers angry. The soccer ball, as many goalies would notice, is built "in favor of the striker"- meaning that it has many features that give the striker a better chance to make a goal.
