For the Love of Football

For at least two decades, modeling and simulation (M&S) has been used in the design and understanding of the aerodynamic properties of balls used in association football ("soccer") [1,2]. The purpose of these studies has beento increase the stability of the ball while reducing its drag. The design of the panels has been driven both by aerodynamics and, even more so, by the desire to make more spherical and elastic balls that are less sensitive to where on their surface you kick them — to efficiently transfer the kinetic energy from the foot to the ball. The use of new materials has been important in not only achieving a more elastic ball but also in making the ballless sensitive to water. (Old leather balls would suck up lots of water, and you would feel this when heading the ball on a rainy game day.) The search for more elastic and near-perfectly spherical balls has resulted in new and innovative designs, fromthe 32-panel ball invented by Eigil Nielsen [3] in 1962 (which was very innovative then and used for the Adidas Telstar® in the1970 FIFA World Cup and for Select® balls) to a number of alternative designs in modern footballs ("soccer balls").

This article appeared in the July 2024 issue of BENCHMARK.