2014 World Cup ball to be less unpredictable than predecessors: Research

A research has reportedly revealed that the 2014 World Cup ball will be less unpredictable than its predecessors.

The research, carried out by Centre of Sports Engineering Research- Sheffield Hallam University, who consult for Adidas, has found that the new Adidas ball, Brazuca, would be better than the earlier versions, Teamgiest and Jabulani, and quite similar to the traditional soccer ball with 32 panels.

According to Mashable, Adidas, who have been making the World Cup Balls since 1970, shifted from the traditional 32 panel hand-stitched ball to the 14 panel thermally glued ball Teamgiest in the 2006 World Cup following which, they received complaints regarding the ball's lightness and smoothness.

The Teamgiest was followed by eight panel ball Jabulani in 2010 World Cup, which again failed to make an impression on the players and both the balls were compared to beach balls for their lightness and unpredictability.

The main reason for the lightness in the ball is the seam length, which according to head researcher Simon Choppin's calculations is around 405cm for the 32-panel ball, compared to 345cm on the Teamgeist and 203cm on the Jabulan and accompanied by their smooth surfaces the balls have an unpredictable behavior, the research added.

The research also said that although the latest Brazuca has just six panels thermally glued together, it also has a seam length of 327 cm and seam depth of 1.56 mm, 50 percent deeper than the 32-panel ball and three times deeper than the Jabulani, which will help avoid the chaotic or smooth airflow problems with the earlier balls and it is certainly not a 'beach ball'.