Fifa have announced the new ‘Cafusa’ football which will be used in the 2013 Confederations Cup.
The ball, produced by German sports equipment giant Adidas, will make its debut at the Club World Cup in Japan this week.
The name ‘Cafusa’ combines the three symbols of Brazilian culture – carnival, football and samba.
“Brazilians are passionate about football and we wanted to deliver an inspirational ball for this competition,” said Rodrigo Messias, director of the project 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.
It remains to be seen whether the ball will follow in the footsteps of its much criticised predecessors.
Adidas have come in for controversy in recent tournaments, with the notorious 2010 World Cup ball ‘Jabulani’ described by many goalkeepers as ‘unplayable’ with its tendency to move in the air.
Similar problems also occured with the ball at the 2006 World Cup as the adidas produced ‘Teamgeist’ ball caught out some of the best keepers from around the world.
Fifa will be hoping that no such controversies will occur at the Confederations Cup next year or at the 2014 World Cup.
