2018 World Cup Official Ball Unveiled, I Like It, Says Messi

ISRAEL TAIWO with agency report

A reinvention of a classic model with a brand-new panel design and the latest technology: in an exciting re-imagining, adidas Thursday revealed the official match ball for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, which pays homage to the first-ever adidas World Cup ball.

The Telstar 18 evokes unforgettable memories of the 1970 FIFA World Cup™ – and of legends like Pelé, Gerd Müller, Giacinto Facchetti, Pedro Rocha and Bobby Moore – and will feed the dreams of those who will play for football’s most coveted prize in Russia next year.

“I was lucky enough to get to know this ball a bit earlier and I managed to have a try with it,” Argentina star Lionel Messi told fifa.com. “I like all of it: the new design, the colours, everything.”

The name of the original Telstar came from its status as the “star of television”. The first ball to be decorated with black panels, the pattern was designed to stand out on black-and-white TVs, and changed football design forever.

Almost 50 years later, Telstar 18 features a brand new carcass, high technology and sustainable elements such as recycled packaging. It also includes an embedded NFC chip, which enables consumers to interact with the ball using a smartphone. The personalised and location-aware experience displays specific details of each ball and provides access to challenges which users can enter in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup™.

“The original Telstar is one of the most iconic footballs of all time and one which changed football design forever, so developing the Telstar 18 while staying true to the original model was a really exciting challenge for us. The new panel structure and inclusion of an NFC chip has taken football innovation and design to a new level and offers both consumers and players a completely new experience,” said Roland Rommler, Category Director of Football Hardware at adidas.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will join other qualified teams next June to play in the biggest sporting showpiece in Russia. Though, they have qualified, the Eagles captained by John Mikel Obi will this weekend played their last FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Algeria. This match is just a formality.