ADIDAS JO’BULANI SELLS FOR £48,200
The adidas JO’BULANI, the ball used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ final between The Netherlands and Spain became one of the world’s most expensive pieces of football memorabilia when it sold for £48,200. The ball, which was produced especially for the final, was auctioned on eBay and a group of Spanish fans secured the highest bid. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to Nelson Mandela’s Foundation Charity 46664.
The adidas JO’BULANI, which is perfectly round and even more accurate than ever before, has attracted a huge amount of interest from bidders following the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ final five days ago, seeing 133 bids placed from 55 international bidders.
adidas JO’BULANI used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final™
The ball enters the history books following a successful auction with a closing bid of £48,200, one of the highest bids ever for a football on eBay. In comparison, the adidas Roteiro ball used by David Beckham during the quarter finals of the UEFA Euro 2004™ sold for €28,050, under half the amount secured for the adidas JO’BULANI ball.
Following the successful bid, the proceeds generated from the auction will be donated to Nelson Mandela’s Foundation charity 46664 which was established to inspire individual and collective action towards a better world for everyone.
Having been confirmed as the successful bidders, the auction winners will be presented with the iconic JO’BULANI ball by a senior adidas representative in the coming weeks.
To send a donation to 46664 please go to www.46664.com or for further information on adidas products and services please visit: www.adidasnewsstream.com and www.adidas.com/football.
ADIDAS WORLD CUP FINAL BALL: JO’BULANI
Golden adidas “JO’BULANI” Official Match Ball for the Final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™
adidas designs special Match Ball for the World Cup final
Today adidas launched the Official Match Ball for the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa. The adidas “JO’BULANI” is a unique gold-coloured version of the “JABULANI”, the Official Match Ball of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and its name is a tribute to Johannesburg or Jo’burg, the City of Gold. While the ball still features the iconic South African inspired design, the main colour of the “JO’BULANI” is gold.
This is the second time that adidas has designed a special ball for a FIFA World Cup™ final, the first final ball was the golden “TEAMGEIST BERLIN”, which was used on July 9th, 2006. The “JO’BULANI” will be available in retail from April 20th onwards.
The “JO’BULANI” also features the newly developed “Grip’n’Groove” profile which provides the best players in the world with a ball allowing an exceptionally stable flight and perfect grip under all conditions. Comprising only eight, completely new, thermally bonded 3-D panels, which for the first time are spherically moulded, the ball is perfectly round and even more accurate than ever before.
The name ”JO’BULANI” is inspired by the name “JABULANI”, which means “to celebrate” in isiZulu, one of the eleven official languages of the Republic of South Africa, which is spoken by almost 25% of the population. The name “JO’BULANI” is also a tribute to the host city of the final, Johannesburg, or Jo’burg as people may call it. The “JO’BULANI” is designed in white and gold, as a tribute to both the colour of the FIFA World Cup™ trophy and the “City of Gold”, the nickname of Johannesburg.
adidas always involves world-class athletes in the development and testing of its products. For the adidas “JABULANI”, adidas partners AC Milan, FC Bayern München, the Orlando Pirates and Ajax Cape Town tested the ball in 2008, contributing to improvements in the surface structure and material composition. The involvement of our players will continue to help bring the best football products to market going forward.
In the future, adidas will continue to use innovative technology to extend its world-leading position in football production and thus strengthen its position as the authentic symbol of high-performance sporting goods for professionals and amateurs alike. adidas also intends to unveil more revolutionary innovations in match ball production for future UEFA, FIFA and CAF competitions. The adidas innovation team (ait.) is already working on innovations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
