The Jabulani ( , )
was a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
manufactured by
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
. It was the
official match ball for the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
.
The ball is made from eight spherically moulded panels and has a textured surface intended to improve aerodynamics. It was consequently developed into the
Adidas Tango 12
The Adidas Tango 12 () was the official match association football of the UEFA Euro 2012, with variants being used for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The ball is named after the original and successful Adidas Tango family of footballs from the late ...
series of footballs.
, meaning "be happy!" in
Zulu, is the
imperative plural
The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...
form of the verb "to be happy".
Design
The ball was constructed consisting of eight (down from 14 in the 2006 World Cup) thermally bonded, three-dimensional panels. These then were spherically moulded from
ethylene-vinyl acetate
Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), also known as poly (ethylene-vinyl acetate) (PEVA), is the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. The weight percent of vinyl acetate usually varies from 10 to 40%, with the remainder being ethylene. There are th ...
(EVA) and
thermoplastic polyurethanes
Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is any of a class of polyurethane plastics with many properties, including elasticity, transparency, and resistance to oil, grease, and abrasion. Technically, they are thermoplastic elastomers consisting of linea ...
(TPU). The surface of the ball was textured with grooves, a technology developed by Adidas called "Grip 'n' Groove" that was intended to improve the ball's aerodynamics. The design had received considerable academic input, being developed in partnership with researchers from
Loughborough University
Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...
, United Kingdom.
Technical specification
Colouring
The ball had four triangular design elements on a white background. The number ''11'' was prominent in the use of the ball, as 11 different colours were used; representing the 11 starting players in a football squad, the 11
official languages of South Africa
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...
, and the 11 South African communities.
The Jabulani Angola, used at the
2010 African Cup of Nations in
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, was coloured to represent the yellow, red and black of the
host nation's flag. An orange version is available for winter games and a yellow version for indoor games.
A gold colour version, called the Jo'bulani ( ), was used for the
2010 FIFA World Cup Final. Its name is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...](_blank)
, the match venue. The gold colouring of the ball mirrored the colour of the FIFA World Cup Trophy and also echoed another of Johannesburg's nicknames: "the City of Gold".
The Jo'bulani ball was the second World Cup Final ball to be produced, the first time being the
+Teamgeist Berlin
The Adidas +Teamgeist (, with the plus sign being mute) is a football made by Adidas and developed jointly with Molten Corporation. It was the official match ball for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The plus sign in its name was introduce ...
for the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
.
Manufacturing
The balls were made in China, using latex bladders from India, thermoplastic polyurethane-elastomer from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, ethylene vinyl acetate, isotropic polyester/cotton fabric, glue and ink from China.
Appearances
It was announced on 4 December 2009 that the Jabulani was to be the official
match ball
A football is a ball inflated with air that is used to play one of the various sports known as football. In these games, with some exceptions, Goal (sport), goals or Score (sport), points are scored only when the ball enters one of two designated ...
of the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
held in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
The word ''jabulani'' means "celebrate" in
Zulu.
The ball was also used as the match ball for the
2009 FIFA Club World Cup
The 2009 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament played from 9 to 19 December 2009. It was the sixth FIFA Club World Cup and was played in A ...
in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, and a special version of the ball, the Jabulani Angola, was the match ball of the
2010 African Cup of Nations.
This ball was also used in the
2010 Clausura Tournament of Argentina as well as the
2010 MLS season in the United States and Canada in the league's colours of blue and green.
In Europe domestic leagues, it was used in the
2010–11 Bundesliga
The 2010–11 Bundesliga was the 48th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 20 August 2010 and concluded on 14 May 2011. The winter break was in effect between weekends around 18 December 2010 and 15 January 20 ...
in the league signature colours of red and white, known as the "''Torfabrik''" ("Goal Factory"), and in the
2010–11 Primeira Liga
The 2010–11 Primeira Liga (also known as Liga ZON Sagres for sponsorship reasons) was the 77th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. It began on 15 August 2010 and ended on 14 May 20 ...
, coloured in white.
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
used the ball in the
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
and the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
with respective official match ball colours and design.
Reception
Criticism
Even more than the
Fevernova and
Teamgeist
The Adidas +Teamgeist (, with the plus sign being mute) is a football made by Adidas and developed jointly with Molten Corporation. It was the official match ball for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The plus sign in its name was introduce ...
at the two previous tournaments, the Jabulani received pre- and post-tournament criticism. Brazil goalkeeper
Júlio César compared it to a "supermarket" ball that favoured strikers and worked against goalkeepers. Other similar complaints came from
Giampaolo Pazzini
Giampaolo Pazzini (; born 2 August 1984), nicknamed ''Il Pazzo'' ("The Madman") after his surname, is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a striker.
He spent most of his career in Serie A with Atalanta, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, ...
,
Claudio Bravo
Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz (; born 13 April 1983) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Betis and captains the Chile national team.
He started playing with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Sociedad ...
, and
Iker Casillas ("it is very sad that a competition so important as the world championship will be played with such a horrible ball.").
![Robinho](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Robinho.jpg)
Italian goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
said, "The new model is absolutely inadequate and I think it's shameful letting play such an important competition, where a lot of champions take part, with a ball like this" while Brazilian striker
Luís Fabiano
Luís Fabiano Clemente (born 8 November 1980), commonly known as Luís Fabiano, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer who played as a striker most notably for Sevilla, São Paulo, and the Brazil national team.
He is a prolific goals ...
called the ball "supernatural", as it unpredictably changed direction when traveling through the air. Brazilian striker
Robinho
Robson de Souza ( or , born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
In 1999, at 15 years of age, Robinho was picked by Brazil legend Pelé as his heir apparent and, in 2002, ...
stated, "For sure the guy who designed this ball never played football. But there is nothing we can do; we have to play with it."
Joe Hart
Charles Joseph John Hart (born 19 April 1987) known professionally simply as Joe Hart is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Celtic.
He began his career at his hometown club Shrewsbury T ...
of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, after training with the ball for a number of days, said the "balls have been doing anything but staying in my gloves". He did, however, describe the ball as "good fun" to use, even though it is hard work for goalkeepers to cope with. English goalkeeper
David James said that, "The ball is dreadful. It's horrible, but it's horrible for everyone." It was suggested the ball behaved "completely different" at altitude by former England coach
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player.
As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...
.
Denmark coach
Morten Olsen
Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...
, after their 1–0 friendly defeat at the hands of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, said, "We played with an impossible ball and we need to get used to it."
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
forward
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
stated, "The ball is very complicated for the goalkeepers and for us
orwards" Argentine coach
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
said, "We won't see any long passes in this World Cup because the ball doesn't fly straight."
American
Clint Dempsey
Clinton Drew Dempsey (; born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward and midfielder. During his career, he played in the Premier League for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur and in Major League Soccer ...
was more favorable. He said that, "If you just hit it solid, you can get a good knuckle on the ball... you've just got to pay a little bit more, you know, attention when you pass the ball sometimes."
It was suggested by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' on 16 June 2010 that the Jabulani ball might have been responsible for the goal drought in the first round of the tournament. ''The Guardian'' mentioned the FIFA representative, who was queried daily for his opinion on the goal drought, as saying it was probably too early to make a definitive judgment, though it would be hard to deny that the first round was more cagey and defensively minded than usual. Owen Gibson of ''The Guardian'' suggested that a lack of confidence in how the ball would travel could be affecting the number of shots taken. Following
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
's 7–0 victory over
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
in the second round of the group stage, however, Portugal's coach
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, ...
said, "We love the ball."
In July 2010, former
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
footballer
Craig Johnston
Craig Peter Johnston (born 25 June 1960) is a South African-born Australian former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder in the English Football League between 1977 and 1988, winning the European Cup, five league titles and an FA Cu ...
wrote a 12-page open letter to FIFA president
Sepp Blatter
Joseph "Sepp" Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result of ...
outlining perceived failings of the Jabulani ball. He compiled feedback from professional players criticizing the ball for poor performance and asked that it be abandoned by FIFA.
Will Prochaska, director of the African social enterprise
Alive & Kicking, critised the decision not to use an African-made ball, such as one by his organisation.
Response from Adidas
A number of Adidas-sponsored players responded favourably to the ball.
Álvaro Arbeloa
Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (; born 17 January 1983) is a Spanish retired footballer, currently manager of Real Madrid Juvenil A. He predominantly played as a right-back, and occasionally on the left side.
He started his professional career with R ...
, commented that, "It's round, like always." Brazilian midfielder
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marke ...
said, "For me, contact with the ball is all-important, and that's just great with this ball."
English midfielder
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
called it "a very strong ball, true to hit".
German midfielder
Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of the German national team. Ballack wore the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for, except 1. FC ...
said it was "fantastic; the ball does exactly what I want it to".
Uruguayan forward
Diego Forlán
Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi T ...
, who tied for the
Golden Boot with five total goals, studied the ball in the months before the tournament, explaining he had "lot of practice, a lot of training and again a lot of practice. I got lucky and
he Jabulanibehaved very well back then. And we got along great."
Adidas has said that the ball had been used since January 2010, and that most feedback from players had been positive. A spokesperson said the company was "surprised" by the negative reaction to the ball, and highlighted that the frequent pre-tournament criticism a new ball receives inevitably dies down as the tournament proceeds.
Response from FIFA
On 27 June 2010, FIFA acknowledged concerns about the ball, but also said that they would not act on the problem until after the tournament. According to secretary general
Jérôme Valcke
Jérôme Valcke (born 6 October 1960) is a French football administrator, best known as the former Secretary General of FIFA (the international governing body of the sport). He was fired on 13 January 2016 as a result of allegations arising fro ...
, FIFA will discuss the matter with coaches and teams after the World Cup, then meet with the manufacturer Adidas.
NASA study
NASA scientists at the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California tested the performance of the Jabulani design against the predecessor 2006 design which had also received criticism of its behaviour in flight. In discussing the mechanics of the balls Rabi Mehta, an aerospace engineer at NASA Ames, described the unpredictable behaviour as "a knuckle-ball effect". He explained that when a seamed ball is struck with little spin it experiences asymmetrical air flow effects as a result of the air close to the surface being affected by those seams. This causes unpredictable movement akin to the intentionally pitched
Knuckleball
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...
in baseball.
The speed of the ball is the main factor in its behaviour, but it is also affected by altitude and wind. Where older designs of footballs have a knuckling effect at speeds closer to Mehta predicted the Jabulani to only begin to experience the effect at a higher speed of due to its smoother surface. The higher speed required for the knuckle effect is also a more commonly struck speed - particularly following free-kicks around the goal area.
See also
*
Adidas Tango 12
The Adidas Tango 12 () was the official match association football of the UEFA Euro 2012, with variants being used for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The ball is named after the original and successful Adidas Tango family of footballs from the late ...
*
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
References
External links
*
{{FIFA World Cup official match balls
Jabulani
2010 FIFA World Cup
Products introduced in 2009