Soccer Balls

Welcome to soccer-balls.net one of the most informative sites on soccer balls and soccer equipment on the internet today. If you already know what you want in a soccer ball, go ahead and visit our store for the latest soccer balls, soccer shoes, and soccer equipment.

When it comes to soccer balls, we think of the standard black and white soccer ball played on the field today and don’t consider all the work and considerations that go into making them. There are a number of different soccer balls for different soccer games. These include balls used in professional matches, regular matches, practice balls and indoor balls. There are also soccer balls that are constructed to market different products instead of being used for soccer playing.

When making soccer balls it is important to pay attention to the cover, stitching, bladder and lining. If you know what each of these is, and how they should be done, it can help you find the correct ball for your soccer playing needs.

The surface of most soccer balls are made from synthetic leather as opposed to grain leather because leather tends to soak up water and make the ball heavy. Synthetic leather is generally polyurethane or poly vinyl chloride. Professional balls and match balls usually use polyurethane leather. For promotional or practice balls poly vinyl or rubber covers are used. When it comes to indoor soccer balls, felt is commonly used for the outer cover.

When you look at soccer balls you see different segments that make up the outer covering. The most common panel count is the 32 panel ball. There are 20 hexagonal and 12 pentagonal surfaces. When they get put together and blown up they shape pretty close to a sphere shape. You might see 18 or 26 panel balls depending on the soccer team’s original country. A ball with fewer panels will have a less stable cover, so might end up getting more curve when someone kicks it.

When it comes to putting together the ball, they might be stitched, thermally molded or glued together. Really high quality balls are stitched together. If you can find hand sewn balls then that would be the best quality seam. Some higher-end balls are also using thermally molded balls. With lower end practice balls you find panels and lining glued together. This makes them less expensive.

Linings inside the ball is what makes them keep their shape and bounce. High quality hand sewn balls have multiple layers which are laminated together. Less expensive balls have fewer layers as might be expected.

The bladder of the ball is what holds the air in. They are generally made from latex of butyl. Butyl bladders but latex has more surface tension. Valves are the way air gets pumped in and out of soccer balls. Higher end balls use silicone treated valves. There are natural rubber bladders which offer a soft feel and good response, but do have more pores that let air escape faster.

Now that you know what goes into the soccer ball, here’s how hand sewn balls get put together! The casing for the ball is laid out, which has foam padding on the inside, The panels are then cut into the exact amount that is needed for one ball. Right before this point is where any graphics or logos are put on the ball.

After the panels are cut, they have pre-punched stitching holes cut too. The ball is stitched inside out. After it is stitched together, the ball is turned right side out, and the bladder is put in and inflated. A professional soccer ball maker will create four balls a day.

Now that you have a good idea of what goes into a good soccer ball, take a look in our store to see all our soccer equipment and apparel!