This balloon has a story for you
Because it's important to have a ball that fits when you're a young footballer, our design teams have developed the First kick with the aim of having a ball perfectly adapted to each category of child.
Size 3 for under 9s.
Size 4 between 9 and 12s.
Size 5 for over 12s.
What's more, to make sure your ball stands up to all your demands, we've put it through numerous laboratory and field tests.
Too light? Too heavy? The weight is standardized...
Here's the weight of your ball:
Between 410 and 450 grams (size 5).
Between 350 and 390 grams (size 4).
Between 290 and 335 grams (size 3).
What size, what circumference?
Here's the circumference of your ball:
Between 68.0 and 70.0 cm (size 5).
Between 63.5 and 66.0 cm (size 4).
Between 58.0 and 60.0 cm (size 3).
A round ball, really?
Variation of the measured average: maximum 2%.
We measure the sphericity of the ball at 4,500 different points and look at the deviations observed.
If the deviation exceeds 2% (FIFA standard), our engineers are tasked with improving the sphericity to guarantee a regular rebound.
Maximum pressure loss test: we tell you...
We inflate the balloon to the recommended pressure (i.e. 0.8 bar).
72 hours later, the balloon should have lost no more than 15% of its pressure, i.e. around 0.1 bar. The pressure after 72 hours should therefore be around 0.7 bar.
This also means that it's perfectly normal for a balloon to lose pressure after a few days.
We also tested the balloon's water absorption ...
In the laboratory, we simulate playing conditions in the rain by soaking the ball in 2 cm of water on a pivoting support while applying 250 compressions. At the end of the test, the ball should have gained no more than 15% of its weight, i.e. around 65 grams for this First Kick ball in size 5.
When the rebound goes, everything goes
Between 125 and 155 cm (size 5) with a maximum difference of 10 cm between the highest and lowest bounce per ball. Each ball is released 10 times onto a steel plate from a height of 2 meters.
Between 115 and 155 cm for size 3 and 4 balls.
Not bad at all!
The most demanding test we put this ball through is the machine shoot test.
The ball must withstand 2,500 shots against an inclined concrete surface at 50km/h from a distance of 2.5m.
At the end of this test, we check:
-the general condition of the ball: the seams must withstand this test.
-the circumference: it must not have increased by more than 1.5cm.the circumference: it must not have increased by more than 1.5cm.
-the sphericity: it must not have varied by more than 2%.
-the pressure: the ball must not have lost more than 15%.
And what do you think?
Your opinions are essential, and help us to continually improve our products.
Many thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.
