Surely it's too much of a coincidence for Adidas to have made with the new World Cup ball?
(Image credit: Angel Martinez - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
We've often wondered what the hell Adidas has hidden in the official World Cup ball.
Most (in)famously, the Jabulani sphere from the 2010 World Cup swerved so violently in midair that we weren't sure if there was some kind of wacky technology or rubber casing that made it so unpredictable. Well, at least the Al Rihla ball is a what-you-see match ball. Right?
Sort of. Ball expert Jon Paul is well known across the internet for making his own – and in deconstructing the brand new World Cup ball, he's stumbled upon one hell of a coincidence. This one is verging on conspiracy territory…
The Adidas Al Rihla World Cup ball is made up of Adidas logos
So Adidas might have changed their logo to a textless design recently – but our memories aren't that short.
Back in the day, the German brand sported a Trefoil crest on their football shirts. That was dropped for the Three Stripes logo but if you're into your clothes, you may have noticed the Trefoil still gets onto tracksuits, trainers and all sorts.
Well, as Jon Paul noticed in one video, look what happens when you cut three panels from the Al Rihla ball…
Is that… the Adidas Trefoil logo? (Image credit: Jon Paul's Balls)
So even though Adi have altered their logo, it looks like you can still see the old one within the ball itself.
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It's a classic outline and one that's pretty obvious when you see it. Consider too that the Trefoil logos are all converging around a triangle… which looks like the latest logo.
That classic Adidas Trefoil design… and some Brazuca balls from 2014 (Image credit: Lennart Preiss/Getty Images for adidas)
No word yet from Adidas as to whether this was deliberate. It seems a little too much of a coincidence, though, don't you think?
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Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
