Investigating the effect of internal air pressure on rebound height during FIFA certification testing

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

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) introduced a quality programme in 1995 to standardise the quality of footballs used in official matches played under the authority of the organization. Dynamic performance is assessed by a guided free-fall rebound test onto a rigid surface from 2 m. Prior to October 2022, all footballs were inflated to a standard internal pressure of 0.8 bar for this test. Post this date, the allowable internal pressure is in the range of 0.6-1.1 bar and to achieve certification of the professional standard, the football must rebound between 135-155 cm. A previous study has shown that internal pressure affects the rebound height, however, the materials and manufacture of the footballs impacted in the study are outdated. It is essential that the variations of internal pressure do not compromise the quality of footballs passing the test. The aim of this study is to measure the changes in rebound height across the allowable pressure range, to gain insight into the effect of the updated test manual on the passing requirements of the FIFA Quality Programme.