Abstract
Abstract
Soccer is a major global sport attracting participants and viewers from all continents. As its popularity increases, so the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the world governing body, together with major manufacturers, is continually concerned with improving equipment quality of the game. One feature of a soccer ball that has previously been identified as having an influence on performance is the imbalance present with the spherical structure of the ball. The work reported here describes a potential method for quantifying imbalance in soccer balls. The ball is floated on the surface of a water bath and the position of the ball surface is tracked with time. Since the dimensions and overall mass of the ball are known, any angular acceleration is attributed to the force caused by an overall imbalance in the ball mass. The method benefits from a straightforward methodology and no requirement for specialized equipment. In a controlled trial, the out-of-balance mass of a soccer ball manufactured to FIFA inspected standards was calculated. Additional masses were then added to the ball and it was remeasured. The calculated out-of-balance masses were then compared with the known additional masses. Agreement between the results was in the range 2-37 per cent.
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