Design
We watched players on the pitch to design this hybrid football which combines the comfort of a machine-stitched ball with the durability of a hand-stitched ball. The wound bladder (2 km of thread is wrapped around the bladder) ensures durable inflation and better sphericity.
Lighter than a regular ball
This ball is considered light because it is about 15% lighter than a regular size 5 football. What difference does that make? Thanks to its weight, young football players can kick or head the ball more comfortably. It's also easier to aim and execute long passes.
Circumference
Between 68.5 and 69.5 cm.
Sphericity
We measure the football's sphericity at 4500 different points and then examine any differences.
If the difference is greater than 1.5% (FIFA Pro Standard), our engineers are tasked with improving the sphericity to guarantee consistent bounce.
Maximum pressure loss
We inflate the ball to the recommended pressure (meaning 0.8 bar).
72 hours later, the ball must not lose more than 15% of its pressure, meaning approx. 0.1 bar. The pressure after 72 hours must, therefore, be at approx. 0.7 bar.
This also means that it is quite normal for a ball to lose pressure after a few days.
Maximum water absorption
We simulate rainy playing conditions in a lab, leaving the ball to sit in 2 cm of water on a pivoting support whilst subjecting it to 250 compressions.
By the end of the test, this ball must not have absorbed more than 15% of its weight, or approx. 50 g for size 5.
Bounce
Between 125 and 155 cm with a maximum difference of 10 cm between the ball's highest and lowest bounce. Each ball is dropped 10 times on a steel plate from 2 metres in height.
Shape and pressure retention
The most demanding test that this ball is subjected to is the machine shot test.
Resists up to 2500 shots against an elevated flat surface at 50 km/h at a distance of 2.5 m.
At the end of the test, we check:
- the ball's general state: stitching must withstand this test
- the circumference: must not have increased by more than 1.5 cm.
- the sphericity: it must not have varied by over 1.5%
- the pressure: loss of pressure must not exceed 0.1 bar.
