A research by the California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) has revealed that the Jabulani ball being used in 2010 FIFA World Cup has some characteristics that make it different from all other balls that have been used in major football competitions.

Many players and managers have complained about the ball including Algerian coach, Rabah Saadane, who descried it as a ball that “does all sorts of things and magic,” after witnessing it hoodwink his own goalkeeper in Algeria’s first match against Slovenia. The ball also tormented England goalkeeper Robert Green costing him his place in Fabio Capello’s starting line up and twice transformed Nigerian goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, from a hero to a zero. 

Assistant professor of Aeronautics at CALTECH, Beverly Mckeon, sought to explain the seemingly unpredictable nature of the Jabulani ball by testing it in a Lucas Adaptive wall wind Tunnel. According to his findings, wind, spin or other influences have a stronger trajectory effect on the Jabulani ball than on all other regular balls.

“The classic black and white ball is stitched together from 32 panels of pentagons and hexagons and has deeper grooves. The Jabulani, which is made only from eight panels thermally bond together, has more shallow grooves, as well as tiny particles raised patterns along its surface. Heavily textured surfaces can result in more turbulent air flow around a ball which reduces drag at speeds typical of a soccer ball kick and allows the ball to travel further. This explains why soccer players think the ball is behaving unpredictably,” explained Mckeon.

According to Mckeon, as the Jabulani ball hurtles through air, varying air flow around it can send it on unexpected paths, which might explain the large number of goalkeeping howlers that have been seen at this year’s World Cup. But Mckeon predicts that as the competition progresses players will get used to the ball.

“The Jabulani isn’t so unpredictable that players can’t learn to control it. It seems like every time the anything is changed, it takes awhile for people to adapt,” said Mackeon.

The world Cup has now reached the knockout stage with Africa making history by being the most underperforming host continent ever. Out of six nations that participated, only Ghana has progressed to the last 16. Having been haunted once by the Jabulani curse, the Black Stars of Ghana will be hoping that the unpredictable ball will act in their favour as they take on USA in the first match of the knockout stage on Saturday.