Aerodynamic comparisons between Al Rihla and Oceaunz

Engineering of Sport 15 - Proceedings from the 15th International Conference on the Engineering of Sport (ISEA 2024)

The two most recent World Cup footballs, both created by adidas, are Al Rihla, used in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup for men, and Oceaunz, used in Australia and New Zealand for the 2023 FIFA World Cup for women. Both balls possess the same surface texturing and panel shapes. Eight of the 20 panels are triangular shaped and small in size compared to the other 12 panels. The balls have a polyurethane skin, and though the two balls have differentsurface coloring, water-based inks and glues were used. The goal of the work presented here was to use a wind tunnel to ascertain various aerodynamic properties of Al Rihila and Oceaunz, and then determine if the two seemingly equivalent balls are indeed aerodynamically equivalent. The manufacturer claims such equivalence, but such a claim can only be made in the context of experimental errors, both on the manufacturing side and on the wind-tunnel-testing side.