Soccer Ball - Replica UEFA

Stable flight

Achieved a score of 5.74 on a protocol-based test. 12 panels.

Bounce

Ball complies with international standards regarding bounce.

Durability

Ball complies with international standards regarding bounce.

Lasting air retention

12% pressure loss over 14 days.

Kipsta, supplier of the official UEFA Europa & Conference League ball.

The UEFA Board of Directors designated Kipsta, the Decathlon group's football brand, as the new official supplier of the UEFA. Kipsta premium soccer balls, designed in France, have been awarded the FIFA Quality Pro label and undergo quality tests at various stages of production. With the official balls of the UEFA Europa & UEFA Conference Leagues, Kipsta wishes to demonstrate its know-how at the highest level of competition.

Prioritizing durability

We've developed a tool for characterising the durability of our balls. We identify and evaluate all possible defects through a series of practical lab tests. We use these tests to compare our soccer balls' overall durability with that of others available on the market.Our aim is to offer the most durable products on the market.

Designed in France

This ball, just like the whole of our range, is 100% designed in France, and has been rigorously tested by a combination of lab and field tests. So it meets the strictest standards and requirements, as well as complying with a whole range of additional tests, specifically developed by Decathlon. In addition to normative tests, our Kipsta Certification Unit carries out additional tests, that enable us to design and compare our products objectively.

What is the Kipsta Certification Team?

The Kipsta certification unit is made up of qualified field trial engineers, renowned for: establishing specific protocols and tests relating to how the products will be used. Recruitment of qualified testers with a level suitable to evaluate our products' functions. Objective analysis of results, using statistical tools. These tests cover general aspects, such as durability, durable inflation, and functions that reflect the ball's technical aspects.

The Kipstadium, in Tourcoing, France

To design our balls, we have a dedicated team as well as a laboratory based in France. The Ball team in France is made up of product engineers, component engineers, and test engineers which means we are able to master the entire ball design process, from components to technical validation.

Our ball lab

At Decathlon we've been testing our balls for over 15 years in order to validate our products during the design, industrialisation and post-production phases. A laboratory 100% dedicated to ball tests was even created in 2018 at the Kipstadium site in France. More than a dozen tests are carried out on our balls. First of all, there are the tests required by FIFA, as well as other, additional tests, created by the engineers within our laboratory.

Decathlon, the designer

With 40 years' experience as a designer, Decathlon bases its product development on desirability and accessibility for all, consequently implying a notion of universality in their design (age, gender, and nationality). The group's, and therefore Kipsta's, aesthetic line is a balance between our convictions (simple, technical, and clever products) and our sober, universal, and modern artistic direction.

Designers as well as engineers

The DNA worked into this ball (i.e. the formal basis on which a graphic design is juxtaposed) combines technicity and balance. We perfected the ball's visual effects and players' spatial understanding of the ball in play to minimize visual discomfort.

The story behind this ball

This ball is an exclusive Kipsta design, and incorporates some of the same technical choices as our Official Match Ball. What you should know - It features thermobonded technology: a seamless ball. - It's made up of 12 panels with an exclusive shape.

Too light? Too heavy? The weight is standardized.

This ball complies with official FIFA standards and weighs between 410 g and 450 g [14 1/2 and 16 oz.] (size 5). FIFA Basic-approved.

How big is it? What’s the circumference?

This ball measures between 68.0 cm and 70.0 cm (27 and 27 1/2") and complies with official FIFA standards. FIFA Basic approved.

A round ball?

Here’s how we test sphericity: Average measured variation: 1.8 % max (FIFA Basic standard). We measure the ball’s sphericity at 4,500 different points and then examine any differences. If the discrepancy is greater than 1.8% (FIFA Basic standard), our engineers work on improving the sphericity to ensure a consistent bounce.

Maximum pressure loss test: here’s what we do.

Here’s how we test pressure loss: We inflate the ball to the recommended pressure (11.6 psi). The ball cannot lose more than 15 % of its pressure over 72 hours, meaning a maximum pressure loss of 1.5 psi (FIFA Basic standard). The pressure after 72 hours must be approximately 10.1 psi. This also means that it’s quite normal for a ball to lose pressure after a few days.

We’ve also tested how much water the ball absorbs.

Here’s how we test water absorption: To simulate rainy playing conditions in a lab, we put the ball in 2 cm (1") of water on a pivoting support and subject it to 250 compressions. At the end of testing, the ball must have absorbed no more than 10% of its weight (FIFA Basic certification).

It’s all about the bounce

Here’s the bounce test: The ball is dropped onto a steel plate 10 times from a height of 2 m (2 yd). The bounce height must be between 125 cm and 155 cm (49" and 61"), with a maximum difference of 10 cm (4") between its highest and lowest bounce.

Not even a scratch!

The most rigorous test we put this ball through is the shooting machine test. The ball must resist 2,500 shoots against a concrete slope at 50 km/h (30 mi/h) at a distance of 2.5 m (3 yd). At the end of the test, we check: - The ball’s general condition: Stitching must remain intact - Circumference: Must not have varied by more than 1.5 cm (3/5"). - Sphericity: Must not have varied by more than 1.8% Pressure: Pressure loss must not exceed 12.5%

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