Sure, it has been controversial especially with goalkeepers but an impressive amount of research has/is going into the official ball of The World Cup.
First, off Popular Science last December wrote this about the ball
“Jabulani takes another step towards perfection with just eight EVA and TPU panels that provide a 70% larger striking surface due to fewer seams. While the Teamgeist ball (used in previous World Cup) was great for strikers, many goal keepers complained that the ball's aerodynamics created a lack of rotation in the air, making its path at times erratic, like a knuckleball. Jabulani attempts to stabilize the flight pattern of the ball through what Adidas is calling ‘aero grooves’, essentially long indentations along the panels. The grooves divide the ball up into additional pseudo-panels but by molding the grooves Adidas can achieve consistent location and shape to achieve optimal flight. The surface of the ball has also been covered with raised nubbins to help with tactile feel on the foot.
While Adidas would not provide numerical flight data, it claims that robotic kicking and wind tunnel testing at Loughborough University in England and at its own football lab in Germany show that Jabulani is its most accurate ball.”
Here is a video of the production process of the ball
Even before the tournament began, there was academic analysis – both for and against the ball - as these articles from Physicsworld.com and Sports Engineering show.
Since then even NASA scientists have jumped in with opinions on the “knuckle ball” effect of the ball which is exacerbated by the higher altitude stadiums in S. Africa
Comments