We’ve come a long way from using inflated pig bladders in sports.
We call them soccer balls in the US while the rest of the world knows the round, pentagon and hexagon covered spheres as Footballs.
Either way, they are used today by countless people across the world. Kids playing a simple game in the street or professional athletes showing their skill on the field- both use some variation of the soccer ball that has evolved from the early 1500′s into what it is today.
While older balls were crudely fashioned out of animal skin and parts, soccer balls today are manufactured out of leather, plastic, polyurethane and other synthetic materials. The smooth exterior of regulation soccer balls allow athletes to handle the ball with greater skill than ever before. We have a long history of evolution to thank:
- 1863: The English Football Association establishes official rules of soccer
- 1872: The EFA finally sets regulations for soccer balls, requiring a spherical shape with a 27 to 28 inch circumference
- 1900: increased production of soccer balls by companies such as Mitre is fueled by the new EFA requirements
- 1915: Official balls were being produced with rubber bladders that enabled the balls to withstand heavy pressure
- 1937: Weight for accepted regulation soccer balls is set at 14-16 oz. Also required balls to be covered in leather or other acceptable material.
- 1951: The first white ball was officially permitted in a professional game
Since the regulation of soccer balls, many variations on the basic form have been created for the FIFA Worldcup. They maintain the base elements outlined in the EFA requirements but different materials and paneling allow for continual improvements to the popular sports piece.