Football (ball)
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/71.102.75.222|71.102.75.222]] to last version by Mauler90 (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
A '''football''' is a [[ball]] used to play one of the various sports known as [[football]].
In the distant past, crude balls such as inflated pigs' bladders were used, but now high-tech balls are designed by teams of engineers to exacting specifications. Each code of football uses a different ball, though they all belong to one of two different basic shapes:
# a [[sphere]]: used in [[Association football]] (soccer) and [[Gaelic football]]
# a [[prolate spheroid]] ('oval-shaped')
#* either with rounded ends: used in [[Rugby football]] and [[Australian rules football]]
#* or with more pointed ends: used in [[American football]] and [[Canadian football]]
The precise shape and construction of footballs is typically specified as part of the [[:Category:Sports rules and regulations|rules and regulations]].
==Association football==
:''See also: [[History of association football balls]]''
===Dimensions===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Soccer Balls.jpg|200px|thumb|Right|[[MLS]] Official Match Football Ball]] -->
[[Laws of the Game|Law 2 of the game]] specifies that the ball is an air-filled [[sphere]] with a [[circumference]] of 68–70 [[centimetre|cm]] (or 27–28 [[inch]]es), a [[Mass|weight]] 410–450 [[gramme|g]] (or 14–16 [[ounce]]s), inflated to a [[pressure]] of 8–12 [[pound-force per square inch|psi]], and covered in [[leather]] or "other suitable material".<ref>[http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws2_01.htm FIFA: Laws of the Game]</ref> The weight specified for a ball is the dry weight, as older balls often became significantly heavier in the course of a match played in wet weather. The standard ball is a Size 5, although smaller sizes exist: Size 3 is standard for [[team handball]] and Size 4 in [[futsal]] and other small-field variants. Other sizes are used in underage games or as novelty items.
===Construction===
[[Image:Fussball.jpg|150px|thumb|left|A classic [[truncated icosahedron]] football]]
[[Image:Glass Football.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Glass football trophy]]
[[Image:Trunc-icosa.jpg|right|150px|thumb|A [[truncated icosahedron]] (left) compared with an association football (soccer) ball]]
Most modern footballs are stitched from 32 panels of waterproofed [[leather]] or plastic: 12 regular [[pentagon]]s and 20 regular [[hexagon]]s. The 32-panel configuration is the [[spherical polyhedron]] corresponding to the [[truncated icosahedron]]; it is spherical because the faces bulge due to the pressure of the air inside. The first 32-panel ball was marketed by [[SELECT Sport A/S|Select]] in the 1950s in [[Denmark]]. This configuration became common throughout [[Continental Europe]] in the 1960s, and was publicised worldwide by the [[Adidas]] [[Telstar (football)|Telstar]], the official ball of the [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970 World Cup]].
[[Image:Soccer ball.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The official match ball of the 2006 FIFA World Cup]]
Older balls were usually stitched from 18 oblong non-waterproof leather panels, similar to the design of modern [[Volleyball (ball)|volleyballs]] and Gaelic footballs, and laced to allow access to the internal air bladder<!-- a picture would be nice -->. This configuration is still common.
The official [[FIFA World Cup]] football for [[2006 FIFA World Cup|Germany 2006]] matches was the 14-panel Adidas [[Adidas Teamgeist|+Teamgeist]]. It was made in [[Thailand]] by Adidas, who have provided the official match balls for the tournament since 1970, and is a "thermally bonded" machine-pressed ball, rather than a traditionally stitched one. For future world cups, FIFA is hoping to alternate between Nike and Adidas for match balls.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
Another ball with an innovative pattern is the 26-panel [[Mitre Sports International|Mitre]] PRO 100T.
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.
===Child labour===
About 80% of association footballs are made in [[Pakistan]]. 75% of these (60% of all world production) <ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,418139,00.html Balls and Chains by Uwe Buse]</ref> are made in the city of [[Sialkot]]. In the past [[child labour]] was often used in the production of the balls. In 1996, during the [[1996 European Football Championship|European championship]], activists decided to press this issue. This eventually led to the [[Atlanta Agreement]], which forced ball manufacturers to make sure no child labour 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 Labour]] (IMAC<ref>[http://www.imacpak.org/ official website of IMAC]</ref>) - an organization created to watch over the Atlanta Agreement - to make sure no child labour 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 and is now "totally free" of child labour. <ref>[http://www.imacpak.org/atlanta.htm Atlanta Agreement] </ref>
==American and Canadian football==
[[Image:Wilson American football.jpg|thumb|An American football]]
In [[North America]], the term '''football''' refers to a ball which is used to play [[American football]] or [[Canadian football]] (both of which developed from [[Rugby football]]). It is also referred to as a "'''pigskin'''", due to their early use of [[pig hide]] to cover the ball.
Nearly a [[prolate spheroid]], the ball is slightly pointed at the ends, unlike the more elliptical rugby ball. The Canadian football is slightly less prolate than the American ball and has a closer resemblance to a 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 American football|professional]] and [[collegiate American football|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 [[leather tanning|tanned]] to provide a "tacky" grip in [[dry weather|dry]] or [[wet weather|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 [[brand name|name]], [[sports league|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 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 [[inflatable|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 [[Pounds per square inch|psi]] (86–93 kPa). The ball weighs 14–15 [[ounces]] (397–425 g).
According to [[nfl.com]]: The home club shall have 36 balls for outdoor games and 24 for indoor games available for testing with a pressure gauge by the referee two hours prior to the starting time of the game to meet with League requirements. Twelve (12) new footballs, sealed in a special [[box]] and shipped by the manufacturer, will be opened in the officials’ locker room two hours prior to the starting time of the game. These balls are to be specially marked with the letter "[[k]]" and used exclusively for the kicking game.
==Australian football==
[[Image:Sherrin.png|thumb|left|An Australian rules football]]
The football used in [[Australian rules football|Australian football]] is similar to a rugby ball but generally slightly smaller and more rounded. A regulation football is 720–730 mm (28.3–28.7 in) in circumference, and 545–555 mm (21.5–21.9 in) transverse circumference, and inflated to a pressure of 62–76 kPa (9–11 psi). In the [[Australian Football League|AFL]], the balls are red for day matches and yellow for night matches
Different sized and weight balls are used for different age levels, and for use with other sports such as [[Rec Footy]] and [[Women's Australian rules football]].
Brands of balls used include [[Burley-Sekem|Burley]], [[Ross Faulkner]], and the brand used in the [[Australian Football League]], the [[Sherrin]].
The Australian rules ball was invented by T.W. Sherrin in 1880, after he was given a misshapen rugby ball to fix. Sherrin designed the ball with indented rather than pointy ends to give the ball a better bounce. Before this time, a round ball was used from the 1850s to 1870s and later rugby balls were used to play the game.
==Gaelic football==
[[Image:Gaelic football ball.jpg|thumb|left|100px|Balls made by Irish company O'Neill's are used for all official Gaelic football matches.]]
[[Gaelic football]] is played with a spherical [[leather]] ball, roughly 10 in (25 cm) in diameter and 27 to 29 in (69 to 74 cm) in circumference.[http://www.iafc.com.au/intlrule.html] A dry ball weighs between 370 and 425 [[gram]]s (13 to 15 oz). The pattern of panels is identical to the [[Volleyball (ball)|volleyball]], consisting of six groups perpendicular to each other, each group being composed of two [[trapezoid]]al panels and one [[rectangular]] panel; 18 panels in all.
Gaelic footballs are also the standard balls used in [[International rules football]].
Although Gaelic football has been played with a round ball since first organised in [[1887]], balls made by the Irish sports company O'Neills have been used sometime since the company was founded in [[1918]] and are recognised as the official ball to be played with, although it is now permitted to use the Gaelic ball manufactured by the Irish sports company Gaelic Gear. [http://www.salthillknocknacarragaa.ie/football.html]
==Rugby football==
[[Richard Lindon]] and [[William Gilbert (Rugby)|William Gilbert]] started making balls for [[Rugby School|Rugby school]] out of hand stitched, four-panel, leather casings and pigs’ bladders. The rugby ball's distinctive shape is supposedly due to the pig’s bladder though early balls were more plum shaped than oval. The balls varied in size in the beginning depending upon how large the pig’s bladder was.
Until 1870, rugby was played with a spherical ball with an inner-tube made of a pigs' bladder. In 1870 Richard Lindon introduced rubber inner-tubes and because of the pliability of rubber the shape gradually changed from a sphere to an egg. In 1892 the [[Rugby Football Union|RFU]] endorsed ovalness as the compulsory shape. The gradual flattening of the ball continued over the years. <ref name="BMA">[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1699545,00.html Blood, mud and aftershave] in [[The Observer]] Sunday [[February 5]], 2006, Section ''B is for Ball'' by Oliver Price</ref>
The introduction of synthetic footballs over the traditional leather balls, in both rugby codes, was originally governed by weather conditions. If the playing surface was heavy, the synthetic ball was used, as it didn't absorb water and become heavy. Eventually, the leather balls were phased out completely.
===Rugby league===
[[Image:steedenfootball.jpg|thumb|right|A rugby league football, as used in the [[National Rugby League|NRL]].]]
[[Rugby league]] is played with a prolate spheroid shaped football. Traditionally made of brown leather, modern footballs are synthetic and manufactured in a variety of colours and patterns. The football used in rugby league is known as "international size" or "size 5" and is approximately 27 cm long and 60 cm in circumference at its widest point. Smaller-sized balls are used for Mini and Mod versions of the game. A full size ball weighs between 383 and 440 grams. Rugby league footballs are slightly more pointed than rugby union footballs and larger than American footballs.
The Australian [[National Rugby League]] uses balls made by [[Steeden]]. Steeden is also sometimes used as a noun to describe the ball itself.
===Rugby union===
[[Image:Rugbyball2.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Gilbert (sports equipment)|Gilbert]] rugby football as used in [[rugby union]].]]
The ball used in rugby union, usually referred to as a rugby ball, is a prolate spheroid essentially [[ellipse|elliptical]] in profile. Traditionally made of brown leather, modern footballs are manufactured in a variety of colors and patterns. A regulation football 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). <ref>[http://www.rugby365.com/Laws_And_Referees/The_Laws/story_214.shtml Rugby Union: Law 2 - The ball]</ref>
In 1980, leather-encased balls, which were prone to water-logging, were replaced with balls encased in synthetic waterproof materials.<ref name="BMA"/> The [[Gilbert Synergie]] was the match ball of the [[2007 Rugby World Cup]].
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* Angela Royston, 2005. ''How Is a Soccer Ball Made?'' Heinemann. ISBN 1-4034-6642-4.
==External links==
* [http://www.soccerball.com.pk/construct.htm construction of Soccer Balls]
* [http://www.soccerballworld.com/ Soccer Ball World]
* [http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/sports/1283226.html?page=&c=y Popular Mechanics article on American football manufacturing process]
* [http://www.asdiansi.com/anball.htm antique soccer balls]
*[http://www.korthalsaltes.com/football.html Paper model truncated icosahedron (soccer ball)]
*[http://history-nz.org/kiorahi.html Ki-o-Rahi history and rules]
[[Category:Football (soccer) equipment]]
[[Category:Football (soccer) terminology]]
[[Category:Football]]
[[Category:Balls]]
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