Pretty Bubbles In The Air

A few months before each World Cup, Adidas unveil the official ball of the tournament. And every time, they get blasted for it. In 1982, the balls were of such a poor build quality that they couldn't last ninety minutes without having to be replaced. This time around, as it has been for the last two or three tournaments, it's the weight. Goalkeepers have criticised the way that they move in the area, and several times already we've seen shots that have resulted in goalkeepers having to make very unorthodox saves indeed. At the moment, I'm watching Holland vs Serbia, and twice Edwin Van Der Saar has made saves with parts of his body that he wouldn't ordinarily choose to stop a rapidly moving football with.

It does make me wonder how they keep getting this contract. In most sports, a manufacturer that consistently supplied materials that were complained about by the people taking part in said tournament would be replaced by someone that supplied materials to a higher standard. At this rate, by about 2018 they'll being beach balls with remote controls in them and goalkeepers will get man of the match awards for every shot that they manage to save. I suspect that money is the problem here. These contacts aren't won on the basis of quality - they're based on the amount of money paid to FIFA for the right to do it. One can only hope that Nike, Umbro or Mitre can stump up the cash to do the job at some point in the future.