A football is a
ball inflated with air that is used to play one of the various sports known as
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
. In these games, with some exceptions,
goals or
points are scored only when the ball enters one of two designated goal-scoring areas; football games involve the two teams each trying to move the ball in opposite directions along the
field of play.
The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated
pig bladder, later put inside a leather cover, which has given rise to the American slang-term "pigskin". Modern balls are designed by teams of engineers to exacting specifications, with rubber or plastic bladders, and often with plastic covers. Various leagues and games use different balls, though they all have one of the following basic shapes:
# A
sphere
A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
, used in
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
and
Gaelic football
Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
# A
prolate spheroid (elongated sphere), used in the
rugby codes and
Australian football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
# A
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...
, used in
The precise shape and construction of footballs is typically specified as part of the
rules and regulations.
The oldest football still in existence, which is thought to have been made circa 1550, was discovered in the roof of
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...
, Scotland, in 1981. The ball is made of leather (possibly from a
deer) and a pig's bladder. It is roughly spherical with a diameter of between , weighs and is currently on display at the
Smith Art Gallery and Museum in
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
.
Association football
Law 2 of the game specifies that the ball is an air-filled
sphere
A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
with a
circumference
In geometry, the circumference () is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. The circumference is the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to a line segment. More generally, the perimeter is the curve length arou ...
of , a
weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is a quantity associated with the gravitational force exerted on the object by other objects in its environment, although there is some variation and debate as to the exact definition.
Some sta ...
of , inflated to a
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
of 0.6 to 1.1
atmospheres () "at sea level", and covered in leather or "other suitable material". The weight specified for a ball is the dry weight, as older balls often became significantly heavier in the course of a match played in wet weather. There are a number of different types of football balls depending on the match and turf including: training footballs, match footballs, professional match footballs, beach footballs, street footballs, indoor footballs, turf balls, futsal footballs and mini/skills footballs.
Most modern Association footballs are stitched from 32 panels of waterproofed leather or plastic: 12 regular
pentagons and 20 regular
hexagons are used because of its contrasting colors, which makes it easier for viewers to follow the movement. The 32-panel configuration is the
spherical polyhedron corresponding to the
truncated icosahedron; it is spherical because the faces bulge from the pressure of the air inside. The first 32-panel ball was marketed by
Select in the 1950s in Denmark. This configuration became common throughout
Continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...
in the 1960s, and was publicised worldwide by the
Adidas Telstar, the official ball of the
1970 World Cup. This design in often referenced when describing the truncated icosahedron
Archimedean solid, carbon
buckyballs, or the root structure of
geodesic domes. Along with its shape the material that is used to make it this ball is just as important. This material is known as polyurethane is preferred when compared to the previous one (leather) especially for durability and performance.
Australian rules football

The football used in
Australian football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
is similar to a rugby ball but generally slightly smaller and more rounded at the ends, but more elongated in overall appearance, being longer by comparison with its width than a rugby ball. A regulation football is in circumference, and transverse circumference, and inflated to a pressure of . In the
AFL, the balls are red for day matches and yellow for night matches.
The first games of Australian football were played with a round ball, because balls of that shape were more readily available. In 1860, Australian football pioneer
Tom Wills argued that the oval rugby ball travelled further in the air and made for a more exciting game. It became customary in Australian football by the 1870s.
The Australian football ball was invented by T. W. Sherrin in 1880, after he was given a misshapen rugby ball to fix. Sherrin designed the ball with indented rather than pointy ends to give the ball a better bounce.
Australian football ball brands include
Burley, Ross Faulkner, and
Sherrin (the brand used by the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
).
Gaelic football

The game is played with a round leather football made of 18 stitched leather panels, similar in appearance to a traditional
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
(but larger), with a circumference of , weighing between when dry. It may be kicked or ''hand passed''. A hand pass is not a punch but rather a strike of the ball with the side of the closed fist, using the knuckle of the thumb.
Gridiron football

In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, the term football usually refers to a ball made of cow hide leather, which is required in professional and
collegiate football. Footballs used in
recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...
and in organized youth leagues may be made of
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds.
Types of polyisoprene ...
or plastic materials (the
high school football
High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
rulebooks still allow the inexpensive all-rubber footballs, though they are less common than leather). Since 1941,
Horween Leather Company has been the exclusive supplier of leather for National Football League footballs.
The arrangement was established by
Arnold Horween, who had played and coached in the NFL.
Horween Leather Company also supplies leather to
Spalding, supplier of balls to the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
.
Leather panels are typically tanned to a natural brown color, which is usually required in professional leagues and collegiate play. At least one manufacturer uses leather that has been
tanned to provide a "tacky" grip in dry or wet conditions. Historically, white footballs have been used in games played at night so that the ball can be seen more easily however, improved artificial lighting conditions have made this no longer necessary. At most levels of play (but not, notably, the
NFL), white stripes are painted on each end of the ball, halfway around the circumference, to improve nighttime visibility and also to differentiate the college football from the pro football. However, the NFL once explored the usage of white-striped footballs – in
Super Bowl VIII.
In the
CFL the stripes traverse the entire circumference of the ball. The
UFL used a ball with lime-green stripes. The
XFL of 2001 used a novel color pattern, a black ball with red curved lines in lieu of stripes, for its footballs; this design was redone in a tan and navy color scheme for the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
in 2003. A ball with red, white and blue panels was introduced in the
American Indoor Football
American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional Indoor American football, indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.
The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the ...
League in 2005 and used by its successors, as well as the
Ultimate Indoor Football League of the early 2010s and the
Can-Am Indoor Football League during its lone season in 2017. The
XFL of 2020 uses standard brown but with X markings on each point instead of stripes.
Footballs used in gridiron-style games have prominent points on both ends. The shape is generally credited to official
Hugh "Shorty" Ray, who introduced the new ball in 1934 as a way to make the
forward pass more effective.
Rugby football
Until 1870, rugby was played with a near spherical ball with an inner-tube made of a pig's bladder. In 1870
Richard Lindon and Bernardo Solano started making balls for
Rugby school out of hand stitched, four-panel, leather casings and pigs' bladders. The rugby ball's distinctive shape is supposedly due to the pig's bladder, although early balls were more plum-shape than oval. The balls varied in size in the beginning depending upon how large the pig's bladder was. Because of the pliability of rubber the shape gradually changed from a sphere to an egg. In 1892 the
RFU endorsed ovalness as the compulsory shape. The gradual flattening of the ball continued over the years.
[Blood, mud and aftershave](_blank)
in The Observer Sunday 5 February 2006, Section ''B is for Ball'' by Oliver Price
The introduction of synthetic footballs over the traditional leather balls, in both rugby codes, was originally governed by weather conditions. If the playing surface was wet, the synthetic ball was used, because it wouldn't absorb water and become heavy. Eventually, the leather balls were phased out completely.
Rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
is played with a prolate spheroid shaped football which is inflated with air.
A referee will stop play immediately if the ball does not meet the requirements of size and shape.
Traditionally made of brown leather, modern footballs are synthetic and manufactured in a variety of colours and patterns. Senior competitions should use light-coloured balls to allow spectators to see the ball more easily.
The football used in rugby league is known as "international size" or "size 5" and is approximately long and in circumference at its widest point. Smaller-sized balls are used for junior versions of the game, such as "Mini" and "
Mod". A full size ball weighs between . Rugby league footballs are slightly more pointed than rugby union footballs and larger than American footballs.
The Australasian
National Rugby League and
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
use balls made by
Steeden. Steeden is also sometimes used in Australia as a noun to describe the ball itself.
Rugby union
The ball used in rugby union, usually referred to as a rugby ball, is a prolate spheroid essentially
elliptical in profile. Traditionally made of brown leather, modern footballs are manufactured in a variety of colours and patterns. A regulation football is long and in circumference at its widest point. It weighs and is inflated to .
In 1980, leather-encased balls, which were prone to water-logging, were replaced with balls encased in synthetic waterproof materials.
The
Gilbert Synergie was the match ball of the
2007 Rugby World Cup.
See also
*
List of inflatable manufactured goods
Bibliography
*
Angela Royston, 2005. ''How Is a Soccer Ball Made?'' Heinemann. .
Footnotes
External links
Official FIFA Football BALL WebsitePaper model truncated icosahedron (association football ball)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Football (Ball)
Association football equipment
Rugby league equipment
Rugby union equipment
Association football terminology
Ball
Balls
Inflatable manufactured goods