Soccer or Football, call it what you will, but this game is the most popular game on the planet, played by over 250 million people in over 200 countries all over the globe. Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and England are the usual suspects on the international stage, but smaller countries like Ghana, South Korea, Mexico, and Portugal are starting to make their mark. This popularity is good for the game, for the fans, and even more so for the makers of soccer balls.
Nike and Adidas, renowned for their huge market share in terms of sports apparel and goods, hold the same level of control in the soccer ball market. They are two of the top brands when it comes to reputation, with Umbro coming a close third. Shopping for balls at any of these stores will definitely ensure that you are going home with a product well-worth the cash spent to purchase it, the only question is, have you picked the right size?
Soccer ball sizes are quite confusing at first, since the primary code is just a number. Soccer balls come in the following sizes: Size 1 and 2 are balls that are used for promotions and such. Size 3 balls are those balls intended to be used by children 8 years old and younger. Size 4 balls takes the bracket of 8-year olds to 12-year olds, and Size 5 balls are balls designed for users 12-years old and up. These Size 5 balls are the ones people see on television, being used in events such as the English Premier League, the Champions League, and even the World Cup. The difference between these balls, besides the intended user, is the circumference and weight. As the number of the ball size increases, so do the circumference and the weight.
In terms of soccer ball sizes, figuring out the right size is as important as figuring out the right place to buy from. The different weights and circumferences were designated by professionals, and their judgment must have been based on some sound reasoning. Buying the wrong size can lead to a couple of different unfavourable scenarios. When buying a soccer ball for a 12-year old, and opting to purchase a Size 3, that would mean that the 12-year old would be playing with a kid’s ball, leading to useless practice sessions due to the ball being a different one he would normally use in an official game. The same holds true in the opposite scenario. If a 6-year old played with a Size 5 ball, the probability that he would give up due to the frustration of seeing his kicks fall way short would be high, leading to a loss of a potential soccer genius.
At first glance, it may not seem like a big factor when choosing what ball to buy. They’re all round, they all bounce, and they all are soccer balls, so there can’t be any difference, right? There is. Like they say, different sizes for different folks. And it is true what they say about soccer ball sizes: size does matter.
