FIFA World Cup footballs over the years: Everything you need to know about Al Rihla, Al Hilm and their predecessors
The Al Rihla is the official match ball for the FIFA World Cup 2022 while the Al Hilm is the official ball for the final in Qatar. Know every ball used in FIFA World Cups since 1930.
During the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, football fans heard the name Al Rihla a lot, and no, it didn’t belong to any player or team.
Al Rihla was the official FIFA World Cup 2022 ball. The name means ‘the journey’ in Arabic and the design has been inspired by the culture, architecture, iconic boats and flag of Qatar - the host nation.
In the FIFA World Cup 2022 final between Argentina and France, an variation called the Al Hilm was used. Al Hilm translates to 'the dream' in Arabic.
Al Rihla and Al Hilm were similar in design but the latter has a slightly different colour profile than the Al Rihla. Made exclusively with water-based inks and glues, the Al Rihla and Al Hilm are very environment-friendly. Both balls are equipped with latest cutting-edge 'Connected Ball' technology, including a motion sensor which sends out data 500 times per second to help officials.
The Al Rihla is the latest in a long line of footballs used at FIFA World Cup over the years. In fact, match balls with brand names have been a part of the FIFA World Cup history since the tournament’s inception in 1930.
The first FIFA World Cup: A tale of two halves, and balls
The inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930 held in Uruguay had no official match balls. Two types of handmade leather balls, the Tiento and T-Model were used at the edition and an interesting predicament arose in the final because of the same.
With hosts Uruguay facing off against neighbours Argentina in a hot-blooded title decider at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, both teams wanted to play the match with the ball they brought along. Team Argentina had the Tiento in tow while Uruguay, the home team, insisted on the T-Model from their kit bag.
After a heated argument between both teams before kick-off, FIFA officials intervened to solve the impasse and it was decided that Argentina’s ball would be used in the first-half while the second-half was played with Uruguay’s T-Model.
The decision would have a big impact on the match itself. Argentina raced to a 2-1 lead in the first-half while Uruguay turned the tables in the second to win the match 4-2. According to the BBC, the match led to the birth of the famous phrase in football - ‘a tale of two halves’.
Evolution of FIFA World Cup balls
In Italy 1934, the Federale 102, a ball made of cotton instead of leather, was used.
Until 1950, none of the balls used at World Cups had a valve to regulate air pressure - a common feature in modern footballs. Hence, balls could have slightly different air pressure, resulting in slightly different shapes, sizes or heft.
The Superball Duplo T, the ball used at the 1950 FIFA World Cup, revolutionised the game adding air valves and the ability to regularise the air pressure in every ball used.
World Cup balls have introduced several technological advancements since. Azteca, the ball used in Mexico 1986, for instance, was the first fully synthetic football. Diego Maradona’s Hand of God during the tournament made the Azteca a cult classic among ball collectors.
The first ball, which was dubbed as the official ball for a FIFA World Cup was the Telstar from the Mexico 1970 FIFA World Cup.
It introduced the iconic black and white panel football design which became famous all over the world and saw Adidas come on as the provider. Every ball since, including the Al Rihla, has been designed by the same company.
While balls at the FIFA World Cup have evolved on both technological and design fronts over the years, some of the iterations have faced their fair share of criticisms. Most notably, Fevernova, the official match ball for the FIFA World Cup 2002 in Japan and South Korea, gained notoriety for being too lightweight while the Jabulani, used in South Africa 2010, became infamous for swerving around too much.
The Crack, intended to be used at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, in fact, became so notorious for its quality and tendency to gain weight on wet surfaces that a lot of matches from that edition were played using the Top Star, the match ball from the previous edition.