The ‘Jabulani’ & Its Controversial Effect on World Football | OneFootball

“It’s shameful letting us play such an important competition, where a lot of champions take part, with a ball like this”—Gianluigi Buffon.

The World Cup in 2010 was one of the most incredible events in modern history. Taking place in South Africa, it would be the first time that an African nation hosted this major sporting event. From the moment it was announced that South Africa would be hosting the 2010 World Cup, preparations began, and FIFA ensured it would be one of the greatest tournaments.

The Jabulani

One of the most important decisions before any World Cup begins is the choice and make of football. Since 1970, Adidas has been the creator of the illustrious World Cup football and has produced classic products. However, their choice of football for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups came under scrutiny for their design. Adidas decided to alter their designs to align with the modern game. ‘Jabulani,’ translating to “rejoice” in the Zulu language, was the name given to the 2010 World Cup football. There was little to rejoice about, however, as this football would be one of the worst ever created.

Rabi Mehta, an aerospace engineer with NASA, conducted a series of tests to analyse the movement of the ball (Jabulani) using wind tunnel data. He stated, in an interview with The Independent, that the problems with the 2010 football began with the previous tournament. In 2006, the ‘Teamgeist’ football for the World Cup in Germany had only 14 bonded panels with internal stitching compared to the 32 bonded panels prior to the 2006 tournament. This changed the ball speed and flight pattern, which caused people to question the decision.

With the 2010 World Cup looming, Adidas decided to make the football even more dynamic and altered their design yet again. This new football would have 8 bonded panels and aerodynamic grooves and ridges in order to decrease the critical speed that impacted the 2006 Teamgeist ball. However, in Rabi Mehta’s test, the Jabulani had a critical speed of around 55 mph, 10 mph higher than the Teamgeist. This created a ball that was far too light for the modern game and ultimately led to the ball swerving and moving more after the force of the kick.

Impact on Players

The Jabulani became difficult for players during the intense African summer. Shooting became challenging and shots were sent high into the stands. In fact, the 2010 World Cup had the fewest goals scored (143) in the last seven tournaments. It became an art, however for Uruguayan forward Diego Forlan, who was one of the four joint top scorers in the competition. He scored five goals in total, with three long-range strikes the pick of the lot. He hit the ball with such power that the ball moved and dipped before reaching the back of the net. It became a nightmare for goalkeepers to deal with.

Before a ball was even kicked at the World Cup, goalkeepers had the chance to test out the ball in the lead-up to the event. Former England goalkeeper David James described the ball as “dreadful.” James stated that the ball was horrible and was going to have a big impact on games.

Spanish and French goalkeepers Iker Casillas and Hugo Lloris backed up this statement, while Brazilian shot stopper Julio Cesar referred to it as “one of those you buy in the supermarket.” For a renowned and historic tournament, it was an incredibly poor decision by FIFA to allow this football to be used.

Response to the Critics

Adidas refused to change their designs, while FIFA stood by their decision to allow the Jabulani to be used in South Africa. Nicolas Maingot, head of FIFA’s media, refused to accept the criticism, backing the work by Adidas and insisting that the necessary tests were completed. Thomas Schaikvan, head of global public relations at Adidas, claimed that goalkeepers had previously moaned about the flight of the ball in other tournaments and simply insisted that it was just a case of getting used to the ball. This, in turn, backfired as it has gone down as one of the worst footballs to have ever been used at a major tournament.

The football used in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar showed a major improvement compared to previous tournaments. Adidas redeemed themselves with ‘Al Rihla,’ the 2022 World Cup football. Claiming that the ball had ‘the highest level of accuracy and reliability on the field of play.” Adapting to the ever-changing modern game is a challenge and one that will bring opinion no matter the outcome.

The 2010 World Cup will always be remembered for the celebration of football on the continent of Africa. From the opening ceremony and the terrific opening goal from Siphiwe Tshabalala to the familiar sound of the vuvuzela’s ringing around the arena, it was an event for the ages. The Jabulani will bring its own memories, and you could praise Adidas for wanting to create the perfect football. However, the constant tinkering causes chaos and unpredictability about the game. As the famous Bob Barker quote goes, “Change isn’t always good. Sometimes changing things is a terrible mistake.”