Why Are Soccer Balls Black And White – Explained

How does someone come up with such a crazy question that Why Are Soccer Balls Black, And White? One might think that such a question can’t be a valid one. How will people answer such questions? But the curiosity of football fans has made it a reasonable question to be answered with solid proof.

Suppose someone asks you to sketch the design of a soccer ball in your mind and then color it with your desired colors. There is a fair chance you will choose black and white color for the design you have in your mind. It means that this is something serious to think about. That is why we are here to try to answer this question. 

Let’s Know Why Are Soccer Balls Black and White? What is the Reason Behind it?

Even though colorful soccer balls are available on the market, they are attractive too. More importantly, spectators love these colorful soccer balls as well. Yet there are black and white soccer balls that are valuable. That is why we are here to investigate why soccer balls are black and white.

Let’s get deep into the topic and start from the root. From the point where this whole myth got started. Soccer balls’ history is quite ancient. History tells us the ball’s origin was back in BC to about 200 AD. The Chinese used soccer balls made of animal skins called ‘tsu chu,’ which is quite interesting. In fact, the soccer ball was made from inflated pig bladders in the beginning. History also found some pieces of evidence of similar games played by different nations like the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. 

So, this was the history of the ball. There was no screen available or no means of telecasting the match on TV screens. This is the reason why people do not bother using unicolor balls. No regular color and no special effects were added. Everything was simple to Kick the ball and score a goal. 

Let’s discuss Why soccer balls are black And White in detail. With the passage of time, the game new rules and regulations were added, and every dimension changed dramatically. New techniques were introduced to produce quality soccer balls. 

There could be many reasons behind manufacturing soccer balls in black and white. But the most valid reason for producing black and white soccer balls was the popularity of Black and White TV sets at that time. The first-ever live telecast of a soccer match on the television screen was between Preston North End and Huddersfield. This was the final match of the FA Cup.

The game was played on 30th April. Here the crowd had witnessed Black and white football on the soccer field. The match was telecast on air, but only a few spectators could enjoy the game as televisions were not in bulk at that time. 

In the coming years, TV sets became one of the crucial parts of a house, and people started watching matches, news, and entertainment using Television screens. This was the point when the organizers realized that telecasting live soccer matches would be very profitable. Though the idea was very special and profitable but because of the black and white TV screen, it became difficult for TV screen users to locate the ball. 

The phenomena mentioned above forced the organizers to think out of the box regarding the color of the soccer ball. Because using the same color soccer ball could demolish the interest of the users who watch through the screen. This is why the organizers introduced black and white soccer balls to make them more visible on the TV screen. 

You would be wondering why the organizers did not use any other color for making football. Hmmm… your question is quite valid. But as you know, a Black and White TV can’t distinguish between colors. That is why it was kept simple by introducing the Black and White Soccer Ball.

The Black & White TV screen was a solid reason why Black and white football was preferred over the other colors. A perfect combination of black and white TV with a black and white soccer ball. 

But who was the mastermind of this great idea? Well, the answer is very straightforward. One of the leading companies producing several products Adidas. Adidas was the first one who brought the idea of black and white soccer balls. Adidas created the black and white soccer ball called “Talstar” for Mexico’s 1970 Football World Cup.

The Telstar ball was made of leather, this soccer ball became legendary. Telstar ball has become a tradition, with all World Cups up to 2006 using the Telstar design. An interesting fact is that other tournaments, such as the domestic ones, also adopt Telstar’s design.
The pattern, consisting of black pentagons and white hexagons, remains the same. Many people imagining a soccer ball still think of traditional black and white balls.

In addition, this new idea brightened and added a new look to soccer balls and enhanced the interest of screen watchers. That is how this journey started, and still, black and white colors are prominent parts of soccer balls around the globe.  

The soccer ball used in modern soccer is almost exclusively made of leather or synthetic materials. In the 1960s were produced the first synthetic soccer balls. The development of soccer balls continued as manufacturers sought to make them of higher quality.

The first synthetic ball used at the FIFA World Cup was in Mexico (1986) with the fitting name “Azteca”. Even though the ball is made of synthetic material, it’s still hand-stitched. The panels still follow the hexagons and pentagons of previous balls. Synthetic materials do not absorb moisture, that’s a great benefit. Some players remember times when the ball was twice as heavy when played in the rain!
With the introduction of color TV and other screen resources, manufacturers started to give a new look to soccer balls by producing different color balls like Green and White, Red and White. There are now colorful soccer balls available on the market.

Conclusion

The black and white soccer ball has a long history. In fact, its roots can be found in ancient civilizations like the Chinese, the Romans, the Greeks, and the Egyptians. Chinese used to play with soccer balls made from animal skins. And thus, the history of the soccer ball evolved.

The organizers decided what color soccer would work best with the black and white TV screens. Due to the black and white screen, locating the unicolor ball was difficult. So, here is the point that Why Are Soccer Balls Black And White justifies. And this was when Adidas jumped into the arena with a new idea. The idea was the introduction of the Telstar, which was basically a black and white soccer ball.