Written by: Theodore, reporter in ISFM
Manufactured by the German company Adidas, it was made for the 2010 South Africa World cup, and officially announced on December 9th, 2009. First used in the tournament on June 11th all the way to the 11 of July, it has received a lot of complaints of its strange movements. Compared to most footballs, the Jabulani stands the most, with its incredible knuckle balls, weighing only 240 grams, a total of around 300g less than your average soccer ball, although still being the same size. It is made with 8 panels attached together thermally, unlike the average ball made with 32 and stitching, which makes it one of the smoothest and roundest ball in history. Because of that, drag could build up on one side easily as it accelerated, further enhanced by the weight of the ball, and turn randomly. This is known as the Jabulani Effect, a well known thing by goalkeepers who experienced this. For strikers, it wasn’t as big of a problem although aiming was harder. The Jabulani remains one of the most infamous balls, with its unusual flight path.
Written by: Theodore, reporter in ISFM
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