With the World Cup Finals only days away, adidas and FIFA have shared the official Jabulani footballs for each World Cup match. Check them out right here on the SoccerBible!
This is the ball that will kick off the entire festival of football, when hosts South Africa take on Mexico on June 11th. For every match, adidas have produced a range of special Jabulani World Cup Footballs, each featuring an inscription of the date, venue and opponents. Then, 62 matches later, the two finalists will have their names added to the World Cup Final Jo'Bulani Football.
adidas have been a FIFA partner for over 40 years, and are still the official supplier to the tournament. So as well as the official match ball, adidas kit out each of the FIFA appointed referees for the World Cup, representing nations from all corners of the globe.
Representing England is Premier League official Howard Webb, who we're sure will avoid any Graham Poll-esque blunders in South Africa. For the referees, adidas have customised their World Cup colourway adiPure III football boots:
These adiPure III's are expected to be worn by all the referees throughout the tournament, and feature three silver stripes as opposed to the official WC colourway's Sun Yellow versions. Also added to the outside of each boot is the inscription "2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa".
So here is the official unveiling of the “JABULANI”, the Match Ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The SoccerBible has the official information, full images and player reaction to the new World Cup football.
The “JABULANI”, which means “to celebrate” in isiZulu, features a South African inspired design and some radical new technology. The newly developed “Grip’n’Groove” profile provides the players with an exceptional ball flight and perfect grip under all conditions. The official World Cup football is available to order now, and is expected to retail around £80 GBP.
The name ”JABULANI” originates from the Bantu language isiZulu, one of
the eleven official languages of the Republic of South Africa, and
literally translated it means “to celebrate”.
Eleven different
colours are used on the adidas “JABULANI”, representing the 11 players in every team, the 11 official languages of South Africa and the 11
South African tribes that make the country one of the most
ethnologically diverse countries on the African continent. The four
triangle-shaped design elements on a white background lend the ball a
unique appearance in African spirit. And like the outer facade of
Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium, individual design elements also
capture the colourfulness of South Africa.
The adidas ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup features completely new,
ground-breaking technology. Eight 3-D spherically formed EVA and TPU
panels are moulded together, resulting in an energetic unit combined
with perfect roundness. The ground-breaking performance features of the adidas “JABULANI” have
been confirmed by comprehensive tests at Loughborough University in
England, and countless checks in the wind tunnel and the adidas
football laboratory in Scheinfeld, Germany.
The innovative technology includes aero grooves clearly visible on the ball’s surface, and this Grip’n’Groove profile covers the entire ball. The purpose of the integrated grooves is to provide unmatched flight characteristics, to make this the most stable and most accurate adidas ball ever. And this texture also gives fantastic grip for the players to have full control over the ball in all weather conditions.
To create and develop the adidas “JABULANI”, the ball received player testing in 2008 from AC Milan, FC Bayern München, Orlando Pirates and Ajax Cape Town. And the worldwide reaction to the ball has been exceptional, here are some of the world's best players who will be using the ball next summer:
Michael Ballack: “Fantastic, the ball does exactly what I want it to.”
Frank Lampard: “A very strong ball, true to hit.”
Kaká: “For me, contact with the ball is all-important, and that’s just great with this ball.”
