Whenever footballers start criticising the way a ball moves through the air, as they do from time to time, long-time fans immediately think of the unforgettable Jabulani. For those who do not remember, or were not around at the time, a little context: for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, adidas designed a ball called the Jabulani, which was roundly criticised for the way it behaved on the pitch. Outfield players, goalkeepers and even managers had plenty to say about it — Fabio Capello, then England manager, called it “the worst ball I have ever seen” — and the Jabulani inevitably acquired a kind of legendary status. Now, though, it is enjoying an extraordinary second life: as the Guardian reported in this article, it has become a genuine cult object among footgolfers, who play a sport somewhere between football and golf. One detail above all captures its change in fortunes: boxed Jabulanis, still uninflated, can now fetch as much as €600, and the price is still rising.
Ben Clarke, one of the world’s leading footgolfers, says that “our perception today is exactly the opposite of the footballers’ in 2010: we trust the Jabulani completely, and use it for what is, in every sense, a precision sport”. The reason is largely technical. What was regarded as a flaw 16 years ago — its heat-sealed construction with eight panels rather than the 14 found on traditional footballs — has become a major advantage for footgolfers. They get an exceptionally smooth, perfectly round ball with no stitching. That means the most precise shot, struck with the inside of the foot, can be hit with more power without losing spin.
Clarke owns three boxed Jabulanis, but has stopped buying them in recent years as prices have risen so sharply. Sean Rontree, director of the body that runs footgolf in England, says that “there will come a time when there are no Jabulanis left on the market. We spoke to adidas and asked them to make more, but they would need to produce around 10,000 for it to make commercial sense, and that is beyond our reach”. And that really is a shame, not just for footgolf: after all, even those who criticised it at the time cannot have forgotten the Jabulani.