The key element for one of the most popular sports in the world, soccer balls come in different designs, sizes and weights. The diversity also extends to the materials soccer balls are made of and the features of the final product. Consider the following technical details that few people know about the structure of the soccer balls.
Several covering layers are included in the surface structure of the soccer balls and they are not made of natural leather as it may appear at first sight but they are manufactured from lightweight plastic that keeps the balls dry. Synthetic leather is the most commonly used, being made of poly vinyl chloride or PVC and polyurethane. Even the types of artificial leather remain a mystery to most soccer fans, because these patterns too, come in great number of varieties.
Depending on the design of the soccer balls, the various segments of the exterior cover, also known as the panels, present specific features. There can be 32, 26 or 16 panels with the mention that 32-panel variant is normally used in the majority of official games. Yet, the others are encountered with some leagues in Scotland and England. Soccer balls create nearly perfect spheres once the panels are sewn together and inflated.
Between the external covering and the internal bladder that holds the air, soccer balls have some special material incorporated, which is called the lining. These intermediary layer can be made of polyester or laminated cotton, thus contributing to the strength and the bounce properties of the finite product. For professional soccer balls, up to four or five linings are used, while promotional items and practice balls contain fewer such structures.
Differences of material do exist in the structure of the bladders as well. Soccer balls can be manufactured either from butyl or latex. While the surface tension brought by latex or natural rubber is unparalleled, the tiny pores in the structure of this material cause the soccer balls to deflate.
This means that you’ll have to re-inflate the ball at least once a week to maintain pressure and keep the ball practical. Butyl soccer balls on the other hand have an excellent air retention capacity and rely on valves for this process.
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