A Brief History: Women’s World Cup Match Balls by adidas
Mon, Jan 23.23
The Women's World Cup has been held by FIFA every four years since 1991, and adidas has been the official ball provider for the tournament since 1999.
Match balls used for the tournament have constantly evolved over time, with each new design coming with different features and stories. Take a look back with us on the past, and how it has shaped and inspired the present Oceanz match ball for the 2023 campaign.
Icon 1999
Back to the beginning. The colourful adidas Icon was the first ever design that was unique to a women's World Cup. According to adidas, the tight syntactic foam and uniform matrix of the gas-filled micro-balloon distributes energy more equally, enabling more rebound characteristics that make the ball faster and more accurate off the foot.
Fevernova 2003
The iconic Fevernova ball still sparks inspiration today. This match ball has a refined syntactic foam layer to give superior performance characteristics. There is also a three-layer knitted chassis, allowing for more precise and predictable flight paths. With over 6 million being sold worldwide, there was still criticism of the ball for its bounciness which made it hard for goalkeepers to predict its trajectory.
Teamgeist 2007
The ball used in the 2007 tournament was the Teamgeist, which was known for its 14 thermally bonded panels and smooth textured surface. The name "Teamgeist" was to remind us that one of the most important components of success in the game is "team spirit". Translated from the German words, team means "command" and geist "spirit". At the time, this ball was perceived highly and regarded as one of the roundest balls to have ever been produced. The Teamgeist went on to be used in many domestic leagues across the world.
Speedcell 2011
The 2011 tournament saw the introduction of the adidas Speedcell match ball which used the same panel designs as the famous “Jabulani”. Made up of eight panels and offering a smooth surface, this ball was highly controversial as players criticized it for its unpredictable movement which caused goalkeepers to have difficulty handling it. However, free kick specialists and strikers who had mastered how to hit this ball properly, saw much more joy.
Conext15
The 2015 tournament featured the Conext15 which came after the introduction of the Brazuca from the year earlier. This ball was made up of six panels and had a more traditional design (adidas may have taken a more conservative approach after the previous backlash of the Jabulani and Speedcell), and was well-received by players and praised highly for its performance.
Conext19
The Conext19 was a true new innovation from artwork to product design. Following the same base paneling as the Telstar Mechta from the mens 2018 World Cup, this ball featured a new groundbreaking technology called the “NFC”. The NFC chip allowed fans to interact with unique content through scanning the ball with their smartphones. Artwork on the match ball also shows the earth from the sky, with blue & green colors of nature and fiery red continents.
Oceaunz 2023
Finally, the long awaited match ball for 2023. Combining the names Oceania, Australia and New Zealand, the all new Oceaunz official match ball is heavily influenced by the host countries.
Black and blue graphics are used to show inspiration of the spectacular coastlines, lakes and waterways that can be found in Australia and New Zealand. There are also features that are inspired by traditional aboriginal artwork.
In terms of technology, the Oceaunz 2023 women's World Cup ball carries the same features as the 2022 men's World Cup ball, the ‘Al Rihla’ which includes the stand out speedshell innovation. This paneling has been tested over and over again by humans as well as robots to increase the speed of flight and rotation of the ball to achieve excellent aerodynamics, which allows the perfect shot to take place.
The Oceaunz 2023 women's World Cup ball becomes available this coming Tuesday the 24th of January at Ultra Football.
Collect your memorabilia now starting with this match ball, as we look forward to a highly entertaining World Cup down under.
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