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From Tiento to Brazuca – A history of the official World Cup ball

By on December 9, 2013

Adidas recently unveiled the official match ball for the 2014 World Cup, the Brazuca, bringing the most innovative and lightweight ball ever used in the World Cup. But what about the first balls used in the World Cup, or those black and white balls used during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s? Here, we run down the list of all the official World Cup balls ever made, from 1930 to 2014.

From 1930 to 2014 football’s have gone from leather to synthetic, heavy to light, brown to multicolored, and bad to good. Here, we take you down the journey of the offical Fifa World Cup ball.
In 1930 the two World Cup finalists, Argentina and Uruguay, couldn’t decided on what ball to use so they used different balls in each half. Argentina chose to use this ball, now called the “Tiento”, in the first half:
Both balls together (Argentina’s ball on the left and Uruguay’s on the right). The ball Uruguay picked turned out to be slightly heavier than the one used in the first half.
The Federale 102 was the official ball of the 1934 Italy World Cup.
The 1938 France World Cup ball was the last official World Cup ball to have a laced side, which would never feature on a World Cup ball after World War II.
The Super Duplo T was used in the last World Cup held in Brazil in the year 1950. It was the first World Cup since World War II, and was won by Uruguay.
Made by Swis company Kost Sport, the 1954 World Cup ball was the first eighteen panel ball to be used in the World Cup.
The 1958 Swden World Cup ball was undoubtedly the most volleyball like ball ever used in the World Cup.
The 1962 ball for the Chile World Cup was named Crack, and was the first ball to step away from the usual rectangular patterned ball. However, European nations didn’t trust the locally manufactured ball, and called for a European made ball for later rounds of the tournament.
The Challenge 4-star ball the England won the World Cup with was selected to be the official ball of the 1966 England World Cup in a blind test held by the English FA. The ball would be the last official World Cup ball to be made by any other manufacturer than Adidas.
Adidas Telstar was the first black and white ball used in the World Cup, and was meant to be easily seen on black and white televsion. Thus, it earned it’s name Telstar, short for television star.
Adidas used the same ball for the Germany World Cup in 1974.
Adidas introduced the Tango Durlast ball for the 1978 Argentina Wolrld Cup. The ball was so intuitive and popular at the time that it cost a then-record amount of £50 for a ball and was the guidelines for the Wolrd Cup balls used for the next twenty-years.
The improved water resistance in the last leather ball used in the World Cup helped the Tango Durlast gain even more popularity during the 1982 Spain World Cup.
The Adidas Azteca was the first fully synthetic ball to be used in the World Cup, being played with at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. It was the first ball to replicate some of the culture of the host nation, with some ancient Aztec designs featuring on the ball.
The Italy 1990 World Cup ball, called the Adidas Etrusco Unico ball was ironically made in France and highlighted some ancient Roman patterns on the ball.
Adidas’ Adidas Questra manufactured for the 1994 USA World Cup celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Subsiquentually it was called Questra, or quest for the stars. The ball was the first to be complained about by players, who questioned it’s unpredictability in humid weather, caused by Adidas’ attempt to make a lighter and more responsive ball.
Adidas made the Adidas Tricolore the first multicolored ball after colored television had been introduced around the world.
The Adidas Fevernova was the first ball to step away from the Tango Durlast design since 1978, but found itself be heavily critisized by many players, especially goalkeepers. The Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup ball was labeled “a ridiculous kiddy’s bouncing ball ” by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, compared with plastic inflatable balls, and called “too big and too light” by Brazil forward Edilson. David Beckham, who was Adidas’ cover boy at the time and helped design the ball was one of the few people to compliment the ball, claiming it’s accuracy was “exceptional.”
The 2006 Germany World Cup ball the Adidas Teamgeist was called the roundest ball ever by designers, and although Beckham once again stuck by the ball, Roberto Carlos and Paul Robinson were among the many critics who highlighted the ball’s different performance when wet than when dry.
A special golden version of the Teamgeist was used for the final between Italy and France.
Adidas got the design just right for the 2010 South Africa World Cup ball named the Jabulani, which is Zulu for “celebrate.” Yet offical World Cup ball once again recieved masses of complaints about unpredictability. Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas said “it is very sad that a competition so important as the world championship will be played with such a horrible ball,” while Buffon complained “The new model is absolutely inadequate and I think it’s shameful letting play such an important competition, where a lot of champions take part, with a ball like this.” England goalkeeper David James was also among the goalkeepers who disliked the ball, saying: “The ball is dreadful. It’s horrible, but it’s horrible for everyone.”
Adidas’ recently revealed the 2014 Brazil World Cup ball, naming it the Brazuca. Adidas claimed the ball has finally been rid of the unpredictability and other problems the were complained about the Teamgeist and Fevernova balls.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.