Friday 1 April 2022

FIFA WORLD CUP: THE BALLS

There was shock when The Sun newspaper reported that Alex Ferguson had agreed to become Life President of the Referees Association. Fergie never had an easy relationship with match officials but the Manchester United manager was reported to have accepted the role in an effort to end his long-running feud with the officials. Under the terms of his appointment, he promised to serve as an ambassador for all referees and their assistants and would try not to criticise their performances after matches. Then the date was noticed! April 1st

I heard this "live" this mornIng on Talksport:

https://talksport.com/football/1077119/april-fools-day-arsenal-ray-parlour-prank-breakfast/ and 

Rangers' anagram-based madness? The best April Fools' gags are the ones that have a hidden streak of cleverness, even smart people might miss - which makes this one a beauty. In 2003, the news Glasgow Rangers were about to spend £5m on a striker was no big thing (those were the day, eh Rangers fans?). So the story that Greek striker Yardis Alpolfo was on his way to Glasgow from Galatasaray seemed like no big deal - especially as Rangers announced the deal on their own website.What all the many publications who reported the story missed was what you get if you treat 'Yardis Alpolfo' as an anagram. Unscramble the words and hey presto, you have… April Fools Day.

The FIFA World Cup ball. The Al Rihla ball, below, is inspired by "sand dunes". There is the colour of the Qatari flag and traditionally white Arab clothes. One of the main innovations of the World Cup 2022 ball is Speedshell technology. Speedshell is aimed to increase the speed of flight and rotation of the Al Rihla ball to achieve excellent aerodynamics and a perfect shot. The ball’s official name is ‘Al Rihla’ which means “the journey” in Arabic.The ball’s design is inspired by the nation’s architecture, iconic boats and national flag. ‘Al Rihla’ is environmentally friendly and made exclusively with water-based inks and glues.

The full sized ball sells at £130 and the mini one at £15. One percent of the ball’s net sales will go to the Common Goal, a charitable movement launched by Spanish footballer Juan Mata. Common Goal encourages football players, coaches and other organisations to pledge at least one percent of their salaries to a collective fund that supports football charities around the world.

Below: The T Model from 1930, the First World Cup.

Above: The Slazenger Challenge Four-Star 1966
It all kicks off on Monday November 21 2022 through to Sunday 18 December.








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