Facts About
Soccer Balls
Soccer balls are used in
the sport of football, also knows as soccer. The
rules of the game specify that socccer balls be
filled with air. Soccer balls are supposed to have a
circumference of 68-70 centimeters and a weight of
14-16 ounces. The pressure of soccer balls is
supposed to stay between 8.5 and 15.6 pounds per
square inch.
Soccer balls are required to be covered in leather
or other suitable material. The weight of soccer
balls is measured by dry weight. The standard size
for soccer balls is Size 5. Sizes smaller than 5
exist for underage games and as novelty items.
Most modern soccer balls are stitched from 32 panels
of waterproof leather or plastic. The panels are
twelve regular pentagons and twenty regular
hexagons. This thirty two panel configuration is
similar to the truncated icosahedron. The difference
is that soccer balls are more spherical.
The first of the thirty two panel soccer balls
was first made and marketed in the 1950’s but
was not hugely popular until after the 1970 World
Cup. Thirty two panel soccer balls were popularized
by Adidas with their Adidas Telstar soccer balls
because they were the official balls of the 1970
World Cup.
The soccer balls made by Adidas for the 2006 World
Cup were fourteen panels and were a truncated
octahedrons. The Adidas soccer balls for the 2006
World Cup were not made in Pakistan like eighty
percent of all soccer balls are. They were made in
Thailand.
Child labor has historically been used in the making
of soccer balls in Pakistan. This practice
has lessened since mass protesting of the practice
in 1996 during the European championship.
The protests were effective in that they eventually
led to the Atlanta Agreement. The Atlanta Agreement
forces manufacturers of soccer balls to make sure
that no child labor is involved in the fabrication
of their products.
