Football ball history

By Lucie Saddi

The first balls

• In the medieval age the balls were made using a leather shelf and the inside was composed of animal bladder or stomach.

• They were fragile. They would break if kicked to hard. They were not water resistant.

The first professional ball

• In 1838,Charles Goodyear and Domenico Nobili invented the first rubber football ball

• Their invention gave the ball qualities such as resistance, strength and elasticity.

• Their invention also improved the bounce ability of the ball, and made it easier to kick

• However, the ball was very heavy and made headings very painful and created injuries

Today’s modern ball

• Today, companies such as Umbro, Mitre, Adidas, Nike and Puma are releasing football balls made out of new materials which promise more accurate flight and more power to be transferred to the football

• Their technology also allows multi color and fun design

Photos over time

The old leather balls The rubber ball The first multi color ball

The photo of Brazil’s World Cup Ball