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- [Narrator] Everyone knows what a typical
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soccer ball looks like, right?
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It's as simple as black and white.
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But that's not exactly what World Cup balls
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have always looked like.
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So what's the deal?
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First things first.
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You want a soccer ball to be as spherical as possible.
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- In the old days we had balls that had the
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bucky ball shape, the Epcot Center shape.
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You had the 20 hexagons and the 12 pentagons.
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And that was a very good approximation to a sphere.
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But starting in 2006, in Germany, with the Teamgeist ball,
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there were more creative ways to make
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that approximation to a sphere.
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- [Narrator] New technology enables Adidas
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to start designing the balls with fewer panels,
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which actually created a serious problem,
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because fewer panels means less seams,
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and, more importantly, a smoother surface.
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- If the ball gets too smooth,
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the air resistance for certain speeds goes up.
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It's like kicking a beach ball.
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- [Narrator] And that's exactly what happened
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with the 2006 Teamgeist ball.
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Players complained that the ball
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didn't go where they expected it to.
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So in 2010, Adidas compensated by adding
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some texture to roughen up the surface.
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Problem solved, right?
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- Jabulani was a spectacular failure
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because it was not rough enough.
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When the ball would be kicked at certain speeds,
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you'd notice it would look like it would slow down
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dramatically in the middle of its flight.
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- [Narrator] And the panels kept disappearing.
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The 2014 ball had the fewest panels yet:
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six!
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But this time Adidas compensated.
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- Despite having two fewer panels from Jabulani,
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the total seam length around the ball
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was actually 68% longer than it was for the Jabulani.
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- [Narrator] So at least this time the ball
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had the right amount of roughness
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and flew further than the 2010 ball.
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As for 2018?
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- Total seam length on this ball,
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it's actually 30% longer than the Brazuca.
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So now you run the risk of the ball
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being a little too rough.
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- [Narrator] And again, Adidas compensated for this
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by also making the seams shallower.
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And studies show the Telstar 18
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performs similarly to the Brazuca.
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But it still has a bit more drag
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and might not travel as far on high-speed kicks.
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Regardless, all this begs the question:
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If the goal is to produce a ball that's similar
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to what athletes practice with for years,
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why does the World Cup ball keep changing?
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Turns out it's not about the players or the game at all.
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I'm sure you can guess what it's all about.
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- There's a new ball released for every World Cup.
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But I think the primary reason is money.
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- [Narrator] The 2018 World Cup ball
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costs more than a hundred dollars.
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- And these balls fly off the shelves.
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- [Narrator] It's a pretty big investment,
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considering you can get a simple replica for 20 bucks,
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though they're not exactly the same.
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- The technologies involved in these balls
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are much, much greater than the balls we used as kids.
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The panels on these balls are thermally bonded.
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It helps keep the water out of the inside of the ball,
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keep the water from making the ball
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a little water-logged and heavier.
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- [Narrator] But is it worth it?
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We'll let you figure that one out.
