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Soccer Rules Changes 1580-2000


Panel Login

Question Number: 14903

Law 2 - The Ball 2/26/2007

RE: High School High School

Jennifer of Washington D.C., Washington United States asks...

what is the number of panels on a regulation size soccer ball?>

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

The ball must be spherical, made of leather or other suitable material, be 27-28 inches in circumference, and also meet a specific pressure and weight requierment. Does not mention anything about panels.



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Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

A traditional ball (since 1970) consists of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons, for a total of 32 panels. It was called the TelStar, because the original black and white colors could easily be seen on TV.

In the 2006 World Cup, a new ball called Teamgeist was introduced that had 14 panels - 6 of them were dumbbell shaped (or resembled another common product, which earned the ball a risque nickname).



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