FIFA quality mark

Football is all about the ball. It is only logical that the ball should be of the highest possible quality. Professional footballers, but also rising talent require the best possible football to improve their game. To ensure the quality of footballs, futsals, and beach soccer footballs and to make this quality recognisable FIFA has introduced the “FIFA Quality Concept”. Footballs are tested in laboratories and only footballs that comply with FIFA’s highest standards receive the prestigious FIFA’s quality marks: FIFA Inspected or FIFA Approved.

No less than nine footballs in the SAMBA product range carry a FIFA quality mark; a noteworthy achievement!

FIFA INSPECTED

A football must successfully pass six test to qualify for the “FIFA Inspected” label. The test are to check the ball’s circumference, sphericity, bounce characteristics, water absorption, weight and pressure loss.

      1. Circumference
        The size of the football must meet defined standards. The football is inflated to a defined pressure and then the radius is measured at 45,000 points. The circumference is calculated using the 45,000 test results to order determine the circumference is consistent and within limits for each of the 45,000 points.
      2. Sphericity
        The radius of the ball is measured at 45,000 points. The differences between each point are calculated mathematically making it almost impossible to overlook an error on the ball.
      3. Bounce characteristics
        Rebound testing checks the elasticity of the football. Predictable rebound is important. In the laboratory, the balls are dropped ten times onto a steel plate from a height of two meters. Under controlled conditions, balls must rebound consistently.
      4. Water absorption
        Under extreme circumstances a football will absorb water. To determine the amount of water a football absorbs, the ball is turned and squeezed 250 times in a tank full of water. The maximum amount of water the football is allowed to absorb is this test must meet the defined norms.
      5. Weight
        In the laboratory, balls are weighed three times in a sealed cabinet to ensure that the measurement is not influenced by external factors. The results must be within tight limits to fulfil the criteria.
      6. Drukverlies
        Pressure in a football must remain consistent throughout a match. If it does not, the ball must be pumped up again during the match or replaced. That might be entertaining, but it would certainly disrupt the flow of the game. In the laboratory, the ball is inflated to standard pressure. After 72 hours it must not have lost a certain percentage of its air if it is to meet the definitions of the “FIFA Inspected” quality label.

FIFA Approved

In order to attain the highest possible FIFA quality mark, a football must successfully pass the six test for a FIFA INSPECTED quality mark under even To gain the top FIFA APPROVED seal of quality, a ball must pass each of the six tests for the FIFA INSPECTED quality mark under even more demanding conditions. The constancy of the shape and size of the ball is examined in a seventh test. The ball is fired against a steel plate 2,000 times at 50 kilometres per hour. The ball passes the test only if all of its seams and air valves remain unscathed and any loss of pressure and changes in circumference and roundness are negligible.

All FIFA test are performed under the same conditions. The footballs are inflated to a pressure of 0,8 bar ±0,005 bar. The footballs are stored at least 24 hours at a temperature of 20°C ±2°C and at relative humidity of 65% ±5%.

Source: www.fifa.com