21 April 2010
When the final match of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ takes place at Soccer City in Johannesburg on 11 July, the coveted Fifa World Cup trophy will not be the only glittering golden object on show.
The Adidas Jo’bulani, a gold-coloured version of the Adidas Jabulani, the official match ball of the 2010 Fifa, was unveiled as the official match ball for the final game of South Africa 2010 on Tuesday.
The name Jo’bulani is a tribute to host city Johannesburg, commonly known both as the “City of Gold” and as Jo’burg. While the ball still features the iconic South African-inspired design of the Jabulani, the main colour of the Jo’bulani is gold.
Jabulani mean “to celebrate” in isiZulu, one of South Africa’s 11 official languages.
This is the second time that Adidas has designed a special ball for a Fifa World Cup final, following the golden Teamgeist Berlin ball that was used on 9 July 2006.
The Jo’bulani became available in retail outlets on Tuesday.
Both the Jabulani and the Jo’bulani feature Adidas’ newly developed “Grip’n’Groove” profile, which provides the best players in the world with a ball allowing an exceptionally stable flight and perfect grip.
Comprising only eight, completely new, thermally bonded 3-D panels, which for the first time are spherically moulded, the ball is perfectly round and, according to Adidas, even more accurate than before.
Source: Fifa.com
