Where Do Footballs Come From?

Factories hand make footballs. The manufacturers may make the footballs look fairly simple. But they put a lot of hard work into ensuring each one does its job perfectly – with no foul ups!

Manufacturers make the surface or the outer of a football from synthetic leather and not full grain leather (as used in years gone by). Leather tends to soak up water, causing the football to become very heavy.

Producers typically make synthetic leathers from two materials – Polyurethane and Polyvinyl chloride. The manufacturers construct the synthetic material used to make a football from several layers which stop the ball from getting scuffed. They then glue this layer to a fabric which provides the strength. Workers use rollers to press these layers together so they won’t come apart.

You may have noticed that a football consists of many-sided shapes. The designers vary the number of panels – the different segments that make up the outside cover of a football – for each type of football design. Most professional matches use the most common 32-panel ball. The manufacturers punch out the soccer ball, which is essentially a Buckminster Ball consisting of 20 hexagonal (six-sided) and 12 pentagonal (five-sided) surfaces, from the material and group them together to send to the stitchers.

Artisans then stitch these shapes by hand. It takes three hours to complete one ball – then they add its valve – that’s the little hole where you pump it up. The thickness of material plays a huge part in the quality and the usability of hand-sewn footballs.

Workers place multiple layers of lining between the cover and the internal bladder. Manufacturers produce these layers with polyester and cotton. They laminate the materials together to give the ball strength, structure, and bounce. This key part of the manufacturing process will help the ball retain consistent bounce.

The internal bladder of a football holds the air. Manufacturers usually make bladders of latex or butyl. Butyl bladders retain the air for much longer periods of time than their latex counterparts. However, latex bladders tend to provide better surface tension. Butyl bladders offer the better combination of contact quality and air retention.

Once pumped up, someone thoroughly checks the ball. They must be within 5mm of 64 centimetres in diameter and weigh between 425 and 445 grams. They also undergo tests to make sure they can withstand heat, pressure, water – and of course a lot of kicking!

Only the balls that meet the tough standards will reach the pitch, meaning that if you don’t shoot that goal – well, you can’t blame the ball! Manufacturers are developing new technology to use fewer pieces and glue instead of stitching, but they take the manufacturing process very seriously – almost as seriously as the game itself!

How are most hand stitched footballs constructed?

The first stage of production is to roll out the material to be used for the outing cover of the ball. These typically consist of giant sheets in the chosen base colour. The manufacturers usually create the casing from several layers of synthetic foam-filled leaves (panels), which they laminate together to produce the tough, smooth exterior.

The workers cut the panels into the exact amount of pentagons and hexagons needed to make one ball. Designers pre-print these panels with any brand names and graphics before cutting them into the required shapes.

They print all logos, print, and colour designs onto the material at this point in the process. Printers typically complete the printing by hand silk-screening onto the cover material. This method of printing can be done by hand or machine.

A coating may be applied for extra protection. The production team then cuts out the number of individual panels required and pre-punches holes in preparation for stitching.

Once they stitch the panels together, they check your ball for quality, clean it of all residue, and pack it ready for shipment to its destination country. All in all, a lot of work goes into producing a single football!

Content for this question contributed by Jill Merisko, resident of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA