A Load Of Old Balls: A History of Football Design

The 1966 World Cup final marked the end of an era. Not just for the style of play, but for the very tool at the centre of it all: the football. The ball used at Wembley was the last of its kind on the international stage, a traditional 18-panel leather sphere whose design consisted of six strips of three. It looked more like freshly varnished wood than something to be kicked, a formidable object for any player facing a free-kick.

While that tournament was the first to be recorded in colour, British television audiences wouldn’t see it that way. Colour broadcasting only began in the UK in 1969, with a First Division match between Liverpool and West Ham United being the first game shown. Yet even as the world moved on, the old 18-panel design persisted in the domestic game, with manufacturers like Mitre continuing to supply it to the Football League, the SPL, and the national teams of England and Wales.

The Perfect Sphere

The iconic black-and-white football, the one that springs to mind for millions, was born from a search for geometric perfection. The design of 20 white hexagons and 12 black pentagons came not from a sports company but from American architect Richard Buckminster. His “Bucky Ball” was an attempt to create a perfect sphere, a concept that naturally appealed to Adidas when they won the contract for the 1970 World Cup.

Adidas’s masterstroke was colouring the panels. The contrast allowed players to better judge the spin on the ball, but its primary benefit was for the burgeoning television audience. In an era when many countries, including Italy until 1977, still broadcast in black and white, the Telstar was far easier to see on screen. It was a design classic, its most famous moment being Carlos Alberto’s thunderous strike for Brazil against Italy in the Azteca Stadium final. Yet despite its iconic status, the design itself was short-lived.

Its successor, the Adidas Tango, arrived for the 1978 World Cup as marketing’s influence on the game began to grow. With its geometric pattern, the Tango had an almost other-worldly look and proved incredibly durable as a design concept. It was adopted by the Football League in the early 1980s and, despite criticisms of the build quality of the 1982 Tango Espana which required frequent replacement during matches, its look would remain largely unchanged for two decades.

The League Steps In

By 1979, the Football League decided it wanted a piece of the marketing money. This led to the creation of the first “Official Football League” ball, a strange affair with a single orange stripe around its circumference, reminiscent of the Nike ball now used in the Premier League. It was a confusing piece of branding, with several companies appearing to produce it. Minerva, Mitre and Stewart Surridge all made versions, with Surridge still selling a ball based on the design called the “UFO”. Its most memorable use was for Justin Fashanu’s Goal of the Season for Norwich City against Liverpool in 1980.

The official ball was a sign of the times, but many clubs stuck with tradition. Plain white balls from Minerva, Mitre and Adidas remained common, often becoming so dirty by the end of a match they were practically invisible.

Some experiments were simply gimmicks. The FA’s decision to use a yellow ball for the 1973 Cup Final between Sunderland and Leeds United was a one-off, a slightly off-colour choice that seemed to fit the economic mood of the country. It was never repeated.

A Kiddy's Bouncing Ball

If the Tango was a design classic, the official ball of the 2002 World Cup may be remembered as the nadir. The Adidas Fevernova was a “champagne” gold, a colour the manufacturer claimed was “more visible” than white. This was pure marketing talk, a ball designed to be sold in sports shops rather than used by elite professionals.

The players were not impressed. Italy’s goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, called it “a ridiculous kiddy’s bouncing ball.” Brazil’s Rivaldo, a player one might expect to benefit from such a sphere, described it as “too big and too light.” The unpredictable swerve was a feature of almost every match and the ball was quietly dropped soon after the tournament. It stands as a warning of what can happen when commercial imperatives completely overtake function.