Empa has been conducting tests on footballs striving for approval from the international football association FIFA for 22 years, according to a statement. Now, a ball known as Telstar 18 designed by Adidas for the upcoming FIFA World Cup has received Empa’s seal of approval.
In the Empa tests, balls must prove themselves in terms of circumference, weight, water resistance and ability to hold air. In order for a ball to receive the seal of approval, it must be able to retain its shape after being shot at a steel wall 2,000 times at 50 kilometres per hour and must absorb only a minimal amount of liquid under high water pressure.
Despite some criticism from goalkeepers that it is “fluttering”, Telstar 18 has successfully passed Empa’s tests, with Martin Camenzind of the Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles attributing this characteristic to the fact that the ball is composed of irregular elements with asymmetrical prints rather than traditional hexagons and pentagons.
Thus, “the flying ball can be quite an unusual sight under appropriate lighting conditions”, according to the statement, while Empa’s study with a computer-controlled foot was not able to show any fluttering flight behaviour.
To approve the ball for the World Cup, Empa relied on “objective parametres to characterize the Telstar 18”. As such, the official ball for the FIFA World Cup in Russia is ready for kick off.
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