SAT, JANUARY 13 2018-theG&BJournal-It is called the Telstar 18 and it evokes nostalgic memories of the 1970 FIFA World Cup. The ball that legends like Pelé, Gerd Müller, Giacinto Facchetti, Pedro Rocha and Bobby Moore scored dozens of memorable goals with. That is the ball Nigerian stars will be kicking and scoring with when they kick off their World Cup hopes in Russia this summer.
According to FIFA, the name of the original Telstar came from its status as the “star of television”. “The first ball to be decorated with black panels, the pattern was designed to stand out on black-and-white TVs, and changed football design forever.”
Almost 50 years later, Telstar 18 features a brand new carcass, high technology and sustainable elements such as recycled packaging. It also includes an embedded NFC chip, which enables consumers to interact with the ball using a smartphone. The personalised and location-aware experience displays specific details of each ball and provides access to challenges which users can enter in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup™.
The original Telstar is one of the most iconic footballs of all time and one which changed football design forever, so developing the Telstar 18 while staying true to the original model was a really exciting challenge for us. The new panel structure and inclusion of an NFC chip has taken football innovation and design to a new level and offers both consumers and players a completely new experience,” said Roland Rommler, Category Director of Football Hardware at adidas.
The Ball was unveiled last November as a re-imaging of the cult classic ball that was used at the 1970 World Cup.
