from the Age of Pele to Messi’s Coronation: 50 Years of the Adidas World Cup Official Ball

at the center of every World Cup moment, there’s always been a ball. an Official Partner of the World Cup since Mexico 1970, the adidas World Cup Official Ballhas been more than just a tool of the game – it’s been a vehicle for the technology and design of the times, and the legendary moments that have shaped the history of the game. from the ‘Telstar’ that propelled Pele to three World Cup titles to the ‘Al Rihla’ that fulfilled Messi’s final dream, we take a look back at the journey over the past 50 years.

1970-1974: The birth of Telstar, the star of television

the Telstarmade its debut at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico and became an iconic soccer ball. True to its name, the ‘star of television’, its design of 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagonal panels, optimized for black-and-white television broadcasts, was a visual revolution, replacing the brown leather ball that preceded it. at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, the water-resistant “Telstar Durast” and the pure white “Chile” were used in tandem. The balls were part of Pele’s Brazil’s three titles and Beckenbauer’s West Germany’s victory over Cruyff’s Netherlands.

1978-1998: The ‘Tango’ design era

the tango, which debuted at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, was the beginning of a legendary design that would dominate five World Cups in two decades. with 20 triangular patterns creating the optical illusion of 12 circles, the design marked Argentina’s first victory. Since then, the World Cup ball has undergone a technological evolution.

1982 Tango España: The last natural leather ball to be partially synthetic and waterproof for the first time. paolo Rossi’s heroics led Italy to their first victory in 44 years.

1986 Azteca: The first ball made of 100% synthetic materials. maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ and ‘Goal of the Century’ were both scored with this ball.

1990 Etrusco Unico: The first ball to have polyurethane foam inside to increase cushioning and rebound.

1994 Questra: ball made lighter and faster with expanded polystyrene foam. it helped Brazil win the World Cup and Roberto Bazo’s penalty shootout miss.

1998 Tricolo: the first colored ball and the last model in the tango design. with this ball, bearing the French tricolor, Zinedine Zidane gave his country its first World Cup victory.

2002-2022: The ball in the high-tech era

in the 21st century, the World Cup ball has become an arena for innovative design and advanced technology.

2002 Fever Nova: A colorful design that captured the culture of Korea and Japan. it celebrated the golden goal of Chung Eui-Hwan, the myth of South Korea’s fourth place finish, and the resurgence of Ronaldo.

2006 Timgaeast: 14 panels heat-sealed together to form a perfect sphere.

2010 Jablani: Eight panels made it the roundest of the bunch, but its unpredictable trajectory earned it the “beach ball” moniker.

2014 Brazuca: To make up for the failure of the Jablani, it was made more stable with six identical panels. It was the scene of Brazil’s 1-7 loss, dubbed the ‘Tragedy of the Mineirão’.

2018 Telstar 18: Reimagined the original Telstar with a pixelated design and embedded an NFC chip for the first time.

2022 Al Rihla: named for its ‘journey’, it was the first to introduce ‘connected ball’ technology, with sensors inside to help with semi-automated offside decisions. lionel Messi finally lifted the World Cup trophy with this ball, marking the end of a long journey.