The football that made footballers too good

The Jabulani, the official ball of South Africa World Cup 2010, swerved, dipped and, at times, appeared to have a mind of its own.

Ahead of major tournaments, the design of the ball is met with nearly as much anticipation as the kits, or the squad announcements. And in 2010, the Jabulani was no different.

But what was so special about it? What made it the “roundest ball ever made”? And why did the players struggle to adapt to it?

Seb Stafford-Bloor explains, Craig Silcock illustrates.

Follow Tifo Football:

Listen to the Tifo Football podcast:

About Tifo Football:
Tifo loves football. We create In-depth tactical, historical and geopolitical breakdowns of the beautiful game.

We know there’s an appetite for thoughtful, intelligent content. For stuff that makes the complicated simple.

We provide analysis on the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, World Cup and more.

Our podcasts interview some of the game’s leading figures. And our editorial covers football with depth and insight.

#WorldCup #FIFA

[rfplatinum]

The INSTANT I saw that title, I thought Jabulani. Iconic.

[BestBoyPatrick]

We all bloody knew it was the Jabulani. What a beautiful time for football. I had no clue what was so cool or why… but I loved that ball. Was it precise, was it consistent, was it perfect? No. But it was unbelievably fun. An absolutely iconic period of football

[leoncallero]

Forlán dominated it, that's why he was the best player in the world, he asked for it 3 months before to train with the ball

[danielarroy]

I still remember the Van Bronchorst goal vs Uruguay. The ball moved so awkwardly yet it was amazing

[thevanicant]

I was 11 years old during the 2010 World Cup. My dad bought the Jabulani Ball for my 16 year old brother and he used to spend 2 hours everyday just practising shots. The 2010 World Cup was such a special moment for my country RSA made so many foreign friends and I still keep up with my mates from Netherlands.(Oh interesting fact Jabulani means be happy. Its zulu similar language spoken in Black Panther.

[christiankabano]

I don't know why I liked that ball so much, even made the 2010 world cup more iconic.

[moreece]

Jabulani actually means "be happy/excited" in isizulu

[KT-kigz]

Keisuke Honda went from being a relative nobody playing in Russia, to becoming the face of Japanese football with his own signature cologne thanks to that ball 😂

[sanjogkarki]

Jabulani was unique and it was different and appealing. No matter what I loved it.

[Dkmo]

People hated it when it was new but this ball was the main reason SA 2010 was so epic. It felt like the goals for that whole tournament were all BANGERS or crazy goals

[Mbiizozo]

The ball lived up to its name 🇿🇦 made fans happy 🙂

[OzyMandias]

The vuvuzela had everyone on edge as well

[yagoperez]

It made the footballers too good...yet 2010 is the World Cup with less scored goals since the 32 team format was introduced, and just a bit above it is Germany 2006, which are the only two instances of less than 150 goals scored

[juliangonzalez]

My mom had got back from Europe at the time, and she had visited a sports store in Portugal that was selling the ball. She came back with match replicas, and some souvenirs. Above all she came back with an official match ball. We used to use the ball during recess, and I would often pull the ball mid game. I loved that ball, it moved like no other. I played baseball for almost of my life, but during recess it was always football (soccer). The jabulani ball made me want to be a football player. I think it’s insane how these changes in the equipment we use can have such a huge impact on the sports we play. More over the confidence we have when playing the sport. I miss that ball, and think about it now that the World Cup has returned.

[angonuts]

I mean I trust Xavi but I don't think Gianpaolo Pazzini ever crossed a ball in his life lol

[SRTifiable]

I remember being annoyed by this tournament because of this ball. Turned football into futsal because you couldn’t play a pass in the air and minus the handful of highlights, the game was boring because, as the midfielders said, it was nearly impossible to control a pass in the air. I seem to remember a stat saying this World Cup had the fewest shot attempts in the modern era as it was hard to create opportunities, however, I can’t find the numbers anywhere. But despite FIFA and Adidas standing by it…one would assume there’s a reason it hasn’t been repeated.

[tshepopule]

As a South African, it makes me super proud that even today the world takes still appreciates innovations associated with our beloved country and the legacy that surrounds Africa’s first Football World Cup. We truly did not let down!😊🇿🇦

[RyanEglitis]

I'm surprised you didn't mention how sticky it was. You could make some very tight moves with it, but it would stick to your shoe at unpredictable times, and caused lots of trips at the WC.

[catalan_]

I think it’s crazy that one of the biggest critics was Casillas. The same guy that only concedes 2 goals the entire tournament. Really goes to show how out of his mind he was playing at that time.

[tanguyen]

As an Australian, coming into the world cup, a lot of people didn't understand why Brett Holman kept on being selected when he constantly had YouTube compilation videos of him being uncoordinated. Then at the 2010 world cup, with Australia needing a significant win against Serbia for a chance to make it to the RO16, Holman scores a goal from distance which was way beyond what any Australian fan thought he was capable of. I don't recall a goal scored from range at that stage of the world cup yet, so I like to think Brett Holman mastered the Jabulani, or was at least misunderstood until he got the opportunity to play with a wacky ball.