Modern balls

Football (ball)

In Europe, early footballs were made out of animal bladders, more specifically pig's bladders, which were inflated. Later leather coverings were introduced to allow the balls to keep their shape. However, in 1851, Richard Lindon and William Gilbert, both shoemakers from the town of Rugby (near the school), exhibited both round and oval-shaped balls at the Great Exhibition in London. Richard Lindon's wife is said to have died of lung disease caused by blowing up pig's bladders. Lindon also won medals for the invention of the "Rubber inflatable Bladder" and the "Brass Hand Pump".

                             

Richard Lindon (seen in 1880) is believed to have invented the first footballs with rubber bladders.

In 1855, the U.S. inventor Charles Goodyear — who had patented vulcanized rubber — exhibited a spherical football, with an exterior of vulcanized rubber panels, at the Paris Exhibition Universally. The ball was to prove popular in early forms of football in the U.S.A.

The iconic ball with a regular pattern of hexagons and pentagons (see truncated icosahedron) did not become popular until the 1960s, and was first used in the World Cup in 1970.

Jabulani(ball)

The Jabulani is a football manufactured by Adidas. It was the official match ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The ball is made from eight spherically moulded panels and has a textured surface intended to improve aerodynamics. Nevertheless, the ball received extensive criticism from players and coaches before and during the World Cup who said that the path of the ball through the air was unpredictable. The ball was consequently developed into the Adidas Tango 12 series of footballs.

Brazuca(ball)

The Adidas Brazuca was the official match ball of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Brazil. It is designed by the company Adidas, a FIFA Partner and FIFA World Cup Official Match Ball supplier since 1970.