Pham Dinh Vien

The key element for one of the most popular sports in the world, soccer balls come in different designs, sizes and weights. Plus, the materials used for the construction of the soccer balls are also very diverse, directly influencing the features of the finite products as well as the price. Here are a few technical details on the structure and the making of soccer balls that many of us know nothing of when having fun in a nice game.

The surface of soccer balls consists of several coverings that are not made of natural leather as it may appear at first sight but rather from synthetic materials that keep the balls lightweight even when it’s damp outside. Synthetic leather is the most commonly used, being made of poly vinyl chloride or PVC and polyurethane. Even the varieties of artificial leather that soccer balls are manufactured of are too many in number to know and differentiate.

Depending on the design of the soccer balls, the various segments of the exterior cover, also known as the panels, present specific features. There can be 32, 26 or 16 panels with the mention that 32-panel variant is normally used in the majority of official games. Yet, the others are popular in all sorts of major leagues as well, mainly in Scotland and England. After being sewn together and inflated, the panels create the nearly perfect sphere that we call soccer ball.

Between the external covering and the internal bladder that holds the air, soccer balls have some special material incorporated, which is called the lining. These intermediary layer can be made of polyester or laminated cotton, thus contributing to the strength and the bounce properties of the finite product. For professional soccer balls, up to four or five linings are used, while promotional items and practice balls contain fewer such structures.

As for the bladders that actually keep the soccer balls inflated, differences do appear here as well, particularly because of the nature of the materials. Soccer balls can be made either from latex or butyl. While the surface tension brought by latex or natural rubber is unparalleled, the tiny pores in the structure of this material cause the soccer balls to deflate.

This means that you’ll have to re-inflate the ball at least once a week to maintain pressure and keep the ball practical. Butyl soccer balls on the other hand have an excellent air retention capacity and rely on valves for this process.

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