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1930 World Cup, Uruguay (Tiento) 1st half-time.
There was no official ball produced for the first-ever World Cup, with a number of different designs used throughout the tournament in Uruguay. Unusually, the final between the hosts and rivals Argentina began with a squabble over which country would provide the match ball, leading to a compromise that saw the first half played with Argentina’s model of choice (the Tiento). "Tiento" is the leather cord which closed the ball on the outside, as if it were a boot or shoe. -
1930 World Cup, Uruguay (Tiento) 2nd half-time.
The second half-time was played with the Uruguayans ball (the T-Model). Ball with rectangular segments and made with Uruguayan leather. Inside was a bladder. -
1934 World Cup, Italy (Federale 102)
Manufactured by ECAS (Ente Centrale Approvvigionamento Sportivi) in Rome, the Federale was perhaps most notable for being the first World Cup ball to replace thick hardened-leather laces for cotton ones.
As well as improving the binding between panels, using softer laces to stitch the ball together made heading the Federale less of a headache. -
1938 World Cup, France (Allen Coupe du Monde Officiel)
Produced by the Allen factory in Paris, the Coupe du Monde ball was similar in appearance to the Federale with its 13-panel construction, cotton laces and dark brown cowhide outer shell. However, the edges of Allen’s individual panels were much more rounded than the 1934 ball which made it rounder and more predictable.It also had to be hand-stitched and hand-inflated by a skilled worker to achieve a spherical finish. -
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WWII
World War II (Second World War) conflict that involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–45. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year hiatus, of the disputes left unsettled by World War I. The 40,000,000–50,000,000 deaths incurred make it the bloodiest conflict. -
1950 World Cup, Brazil (Superball Duplo T)
Thanks to the technical advances made in 12 year during the World War II, the World Cup in 1950 witnessed a minor revolution in the design of the official ball. Gone were the panels and laces of yesteryear and in came the Duplo T, which featured a moulded rubber valve through which the enclosed internal bladder could be inflated by a simple hand pump, like all modern balls. The concept had already been in use for many years but the syringe valve design wasn't cleared by FIFA for use until 1950. -
1954 World Cup, Switzerland (Kost Sport Swiss World Champion)
The Swiss World Champion was the first 18-panel leather ball used at a major football tournament, with a more daring yellow colour and interlocking “W” panels lending the ball a modernised look. -
1958 World Cup, Sweden (Top Star)
Made by Swedish company Sydlader AB, which was founded in 1914 and initially produced leather drive belts for industrial and agricultural machinery.
Sydlader was appointed as the official ball supplier for the ’58 World Cup after the Top Star was chosen in a blind test of over 100 designs by a panel of FIFA officials. Each team was then provided with 30 balls for use during the tournament. -
1962 World Cup, Chile (Custodio Zamora Mr Crack)
With an 18-panel design inspired by a volleyball, the Crack was a chrome coloured ball that had a smoother, rounder surface (and hence better, more uniform behaviour).
Unfortunately, due to issues with abrasion, brittleness and waterlogging, the Crack was dismissed as inadequate by players and officials alike, leading to a variety of hastily sourced alternatives being used throughout the tournament instead. -
1966 World Cup, England (Slazenger Challenge 4 Star)
After the Crack proved to be unproper, FIFA decided that they would eschew local manufacturers and entrust the supply of World Cup balls to multinational sports companies. The first offering was the Slazenger Challenge 4 Star, a 25-panel ball with a latex valve produced in white, bright orange and yellow.
The orange variant was chosen for the final as England beat West Germany 4-2 in extra time to lift the Jules Rimet trophy at Wembley. -
1970 World Cup, Mexico (Adidas Telstar)
The Adidas era began in 1970 with the introduction of the original Telstar, a 32-panel “truncated icosahedron” design that came to define what a typical football would look like for decades to come.
Named after a similarly spherical U.S. satellite, the distinct two-tone design also made the ball easier to follow for people watching matches at home on black-and-white televisions, though an all-white “Chile Durlast” variation was also used in some games. -
1974 World Cup, West Germany (Adidas Telstar Durlast)
Fundamentally the same design as the original Telstar, the Durlast featured a new, thin polyurethane coating over the leather panels that improved its resistance against waterlogging and abrasion. -
1978 World Cup, Argentina (Adidas Tango)
One of the most iconic soccer balls of all time, the Tango was introduced for the 1978 World Cup and lasted for many years with only a few alternations. The ’78 Tango consisted of 20 hexagonal handstitched panels coated in a thin plastic “Durlast” membrane to help guard against waterlogging.
The graphic design also used triangular markings on each panel to create the illusion of white circles all over the surface, which helped players track the spin of the ball through the air. -
1982 World Cup, Spain (Adidas Tango Espana)
So popular was the Tango design that it lasted Adidas from 1978, through the 1982 World Cup in Spain and on to the European Championships and Olympic Games of 1988.
The ’82 España edition received only very minor cosmetic updates, though the seams were rubberised to improve their water resistance. The España is also notable for being the last fully leather ball to be used at a World Cup tournament before the dawn of the synthetic era. -
1986 World Cup, Mexico (Adidas Azteca)
While the Tango was still in use, Adidas decided that a new ball was required for the 1986 World Cup so the Azteca was created. While resembling the Tango with its hand-sewn 32-panel design, the Azteca was manufactured using 100% synthetic materials and the triangular designs on the panels featured elaborate detailing inspired by Aztec frescoes and culture.
It also holds a unique place in football history by being the ball that Maradona used for his infamous “Hand of God”. -
1990 World Cup, Italy (Adidas Etrusco Unico)
Like the Azteca, the Etrusco Unico drew inspiration by the ancient culture of the host nation. Rather than Aztec art, the 20 triangular triads were gilded with a depiction of the lions heads regularly found in countless works of Etruscan sculpture, jewellery, fine art and architecture.
The Etrusco was also the first ball to feature an internal layer of polyurethane foam beneath the outer shell to provide further protection against waterlogging and to improve the durability and rebound quality. -
1994 World Cup, United States (Adidas Questra)
Its name conjured images of man’s ancient quest to reach the stars and the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
It was the latest in a succession of Tango clones. It featured the same pentagonal panel design used, though the flourishes in the detailing this time reflected the wonders of space exploration. The Questra was also much lighter than previous balls, leading attacking players to commend its ability to swerve and curl and goalkeepers to bemoan its unpredictability. -
1998 World Cup, France (Adidas Tricolore)
The Tricolore was the first multicoloured ball to be used at a World Cup, with the traditional monochrome palette updated to reflect the traditional colours of the host nation: red, white and blue.
While the fundamental design remained unchanged, the cockerel and the flag were selected as the traditional symbols of France to be incorporated into the triad motif. The Tricolore was also the last World Cup match ball to bear the now-iconic “Tango”. -
2002 World Cup, Japan/South Korea (Adidas Fevernova)
The Fevernova saw Adidas break away from the traditional Tango design in favour of a radical offset graphic inspired by Asian culture, which consisted of a three-pronged golden shape (inspired by a Japanese “tomoe” symbol) and red streaks meant to resemble the ancient art of calligraphy.
This ball was widely criticised for being far too light and unpredictable, largely as a result of the airy synthetic foam used as padding inside the rubbery polyurethane exterior. -
2006 World Cup, Germany (Adidas Teamgeist and Teamgeist Berlin)
The standard Teamgeist (“team spirit”) was white with black oval-shaped banding and constructed using just 14 thermally bonded synthetic panels to create a rounder, more precise and almost entirely waterproof ball. A special golden version was produced for the final in Berlin. However, due to having fewer seams, air resistance was reduced to the point that several prominent players complained about the ball’s movement in the air, something which was fast becoming a pre-tournament tradition. -
2010 World Cup, South Africa (Adidas Jabulani and Jo’bulani)
Remembered as one of the most troublesome balls of all time, the Jabulani had a lively name (translating from the Zulu “be happy”) and an even livelier tendency to dip, swerve and balloon away into the terraces. Made from eight moulded panels, the surface of the Jabulani was also textured with thin ridges and grooves in an effort to improve aerodynamics.
However, several goalkeepers were blighted with handling errors went public with their concerns over the unpredictability of the ball. -
2014 World Cup, Brazil (Adidas Brazuca and Brazuca Rio)
The first one to be named by public vote, the Brazuca was made from six bonded polyurethane panels and decked out in a vivid graphic inspired by Bahia bands — traditional Brazilian good luck bracelets made from colourful yarn.
Thankfully, the Brazuca was able to avoid the pitfalls of its direct predecessor after undergoing two years of rigorous testing prior to the tournament. -
2018 World Cup, Russia (Adidas Telstar 18 and Telstar 18 Mechta)
Harking back to the glory days of the early 1970s, Adidas updated their classic Telstar design for use in Russia. Rather than using 32 handstitched panels, the modernised Telstar was constructed from just six panels thermally bonded to create a rounder, smoother, more consistent surface. -
2022 World Cup, Qatar (Adidas Al Rihla)
The Al Rihla (a name that translates from Arabic into English as “the journey”) is a 20-panel design that Adidas says is inspired by the architecture, art and national flag of Qatar.
In order to reduce air resistance in what could be one of the hottest World Cup finals ever, the ball appears completely seamless and the shape of the thermally-bonded panels are directly inspired by the sails of the famous Dhow boats that are emblematic of the Gulf state.