FIFA unveiled the official match ball for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, called Trionda, which translated from Spanish, means “three waves”, a hat tip to the three host nations, Canada, Mexico and the United States. The ball’s design features three prominent colours: red, green and blue that also pays homage to the three host countries. Trionda has four panels that connect to form a triangle in the centre of the ball in a nod to the historic union of the three host nations. The ball will carry iconography representing each of the three host countries: a maple leaf for Canada, an eagle for Mexico and a star for the United States, while gold embellishments pay tribute to the FIFA World Cup Trophy. The Trionda will have some big shoes to fill. After all, FIFA history is full of World Cup balls created for specific editions. And with rich back stories too. Uruguay 1930: T-model But before we get to balls with names like Telstar, Azteca, Jabulani, Al Rihla, we should talk about why the need for an official ball arose in the first place. The first edition of the FIFA World Cup in 1930 did not have an official ball (Although many matches saw the T-model football being used). The T-model ball was named so because of the eleven T-shaped strips of hand-stitched leather cobbled together to make the ball. The ball had already been used at the Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928 Olympics. For the maiden World Cup final of the 1930 edition, the captains of Uruguay and Argentina disagreed over which ball to use. The hosts wanted the T-model ball. Their opponents were adamant on using the Tiento ball, which was made of 12 long panels. With neither side willing to budge, it was decided that both balls would be used for each half each. How much did their preference of a ball matter? Argentina were leading 2-1 at the interval with their favoured Tiento ball. Then Uruguay got their favoured ball for the second half, and they won the match 4-2 by scoring three second half goals. Italy 1934: Federale 102 For the next edition of the World Cup in Italy, the Federale 102, which was produced by an Italian manufacturing company, was used. The Federale 102 consisted of 13 hand-stitched leather panels. But it was not the only ball used: at least two other balls—Globe and the Zig-Zag, both of which were produced by British companies—were used for matches during the tournament, including the final. It was the team captains who were given the choice of which ball to use in their games. France 1938: Allen Modern day advertising and marketing mavericks look away now. Because the Paris-produced Allen balls that were used during the France 1938 World Cup did not have any branding on the balls used during the biggest platform any brand could have: a football World Cup (even if it wasn’t the earth stopping behemoth it is today). The only time the makers of the ball marketed their brand name was when they placed the ball at the centre of the pitch before the start of the final. Brazil 1950: Superball Duplo T The Second World War interrupted the World Cups for 12 years. When the first post-war World Cup was played in 1950, the organisers used the Superball Duplo T ball. The balls used in the previous editions all had laces on them, exactly like shoes do. Duplo T did not have laces. Instead, it had valves through which the ball could be inflated with a pump and a needle. Switzerland 1954: Swiss World Champion The Swiss World Champion was the first one to have a yellowish colour. Why? So that spectators from the nose-bleeds could spot the ball, which was difficult with the previous dark brown footballs. The Swiss World Champion was made from greased leather, 18 long pieces of leather, in fact, that were joined together by nylon threads and arranged in rows of three panels. But the ball caused troubles for players when it rained. At this stage, leather balls were not waterproof. So the Swiss World Champion absorbed water and became heavy during the 1954 World Cup final. Sweden 1958: Top Star FIFA picked this ball by hosting a competition, where 102 unbranded footballs were submitted. The names of the balls were concealed from the judges. The Top Star (known as contestant no 55) was the eventual winner. Top Star balls were available in yellow, light brown and white. If you saw photos from the final of the Sweden 1958 World Cup, you probably remember a young Pele galloping with a shiny white ball at his feet. The white ball in question was the Top Star, which had 24 leather strips that were coated with wax to keep out moisture. Just Fontaine banged in 13 goals in six matches for France with this ball at his command. The Top Star was so popular with players of this generation that players demanded that it be used in the 1962 World Cup quarter-final as well between Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Chile 1962: Mr Crack With 18 strips of leather, Mr Crack was a ball with rounder panels than its predecessors. This gave it the appearance of being more spherical. While the ball retained its shape for longer by allowing air to escape more slowly, there ball was criticised for absorbing water. England 1966: Challenge 4-Star Another event where the official ball was picked after a contest. In this one, over 100 unbranded balls were submitted to the Football Association. FIFA website notes that a group of experts tested the circumference, roundness, weight, loss of pressure and rebound distance of each ball before announcing that the Challenge 4-Star, made by British firm Slazenger, was the winner. Mexico 1970: Telstar This was the first time that Adidas was appointed as the official ball supplier – a partnership which continues to this day. The Telstar consisted of 32 panels - 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons, a design that became synonymous with footballs. The name of the ball had an interesting backstory: it was named after the communications satellite that was responsible for the first live international TV transmissions. West Germany 1974: Telstar Durlast In a change from preceding World Cups, matches at the 1974 World Cup saw branded balls that bore the name of the ball, manufacturer, and the words ‘Official World Cup 1974’. The ball was resistant to water and mud. In fact, Adidas provided two options for the tournament: a whiteball that was ideal for floodlit matches, and an orange one that offered better visibility in snow. Argentina 1978: Tango Durlast The ball -- which got its name from tango, the famous dance form with origins in 19th century Argentina -- was actually made in France. The hand-stitched Tango incorporated the waterproof coating that its predecessors, the Durlast had. Spain 1982: Tango España Just like its predecessor from Argentina four years ago, the Tango Espana had a design with 20 black triads on hexagonal panels, with each triangle combining to form 12 circles. The football did not have the Durlast coating that had become common in footballs. Instead, the ball used polyurethane, with an extra layer for the seams, to make it waterproof. Mexico 1986: Azteca The ball was named in honor of Mexico's original inhabitants: the Aztecs, who lived in the region between the 14th and 16th centuries. The ball had designs that mimicked Aztec murals and was made entirely from synthetic material (for the first time in World Cup history), ensuring that absorption of water was minimised. Italy 1990: Etrusco Unico The ball was named in honour of the Etruscan people, who lived in central and northern Italy from around 800 to 100 BC. The ball sported a design with heads of three lions roaring which was a common design in Etruscan culture, found on many stone sculptures. USA 1994: Questra This football paid homage to USA's space exploration by having planets, rockets and stars printed on the ball. The ball had 12 pentagonal and 20 hexagonal panels. France 1998: Tricolore The first football to feature syntactic foam. This was also Adidas' first multi-coloured offering for the tournament. Korea/Japan 2002: Fevernova The balls had four trigonal designs on them, which were meant as a nod to wind turbines, in a celebration of alternative energy sources The Fevernova name was a combination of the words ‘fever’ and ‘supernova’. The hand-stitched balls boasted an improved layer of syntactic foam that provided extra cushioning for greater control and accuracy. Germany 2006: Teamgeist Teamgeist (team spirit) was said to be less than one percent short of being a perfect sphere. Rather than the tried and tested hexagonal and pentagonal panels favoured by balls used in the previous eight tournaments, Teamgeist had 14 panels designed to resemble propellers which were thermally bonded, rather than being stitched together. The German football team's traditional colours of black and white were reflected on the ball. The Germany-based Adidas pulled out all stops when it came to the design for the World Cup hosted by Germany. In the history of the World Cup, never before had balls carried the names of the two teams, the stadium, the city, the date and kick-off time on the ball for specific games. That was until the Teamgeist was introduced. For the final, Adidas even brought out a special gold version of the ball, called the Teamgeist Berlin. South Africa 2010: Jabulani Jabulani – which means to celebrate in Zulu language – had 11 colours on it. This not just represented the number of players on a football team, it also stood for the official South African languages, and the cities originally planned for the first World Cup in Africa. It used eight thermally-bonded 3D panels. Once again, using the template set by the previous World Cup, Adidas brought out a special ball for the final with gold detailing (called the Jo’bulani since the final was in Johannesburg). The Jabulani proved to be a bit controversial with goalkeepers such as Gianluigi Buffon of Italy and Julio Cesar of Brazil, unhappy at its unpredictable behaviour in the air. Brazil 2014: Brazuca The Brazuca was tested by over 600 professional footballers besides 30 teams of scientists running it through laboratory tests. The ball had six propeller-shaped panels. Over one million people voted for the name of the ball, with Brazuca emerging as the top choice – a term used by Brazilians to express pride in their way of life Russia 2018: Telstar 18 The design of Telstar 18 paid tribute to Adidas’ iconic first World Cup match ball from almost 50 years earlier. The ball had a embedded NFC (near-field communication) chip, which allowed fans to interact with the ball using their smartphones. The ball was made of six textured panels which were glued together, rather than being stitched, which means it had no seams. Qatar 2022: Al Rihla Adidas marketted the Al Rihla ball as being faster in flight than any other in the tournament’s history. Al Rihla means ‘the journey’ in Arabic. Adidas said that Al Rihla included ‘Connected Ball’ technology, which proved invaluable in helping match officials make faster and more accurate decisions during the tournament, particularly in relation to tight offside decisions.
