Most of the football gear, personnel and equipment found at matches falls into the useful, but not absolutely essential, category. No kits? Shirts and skins. No goals? A pile of jumpers has worked pretty well for over a century. No referee? All the better for practising your reducer. However, there’s one thing you absolutely cannot do without: a football.
Footballs do not come in all shapes and sizes, but they differ more than you might think. That makes it all the more important to find the right one for you. That might be a durable training ball that will last years of kicking against a wall, or a technologically-advanced marvel that’s good enough to use in the World Cup or Premier League. In this guide, you’ll find all the information you need to pick the best type of football for you, along with our top picks of the best balls on the market.
How to buy the best football for you
The first thing to think about is the surface you’re going to play on; this is key for both the ball’s durability and it’s playability, so make sure you work out where you’re going to be using the ball most. If you’re training and playing on grass then you’ll want a standard football, but those won’t hold up well if you take them to play indoors or on the streets. There are specialist balls for playing indoors, on rough surfaces and even on the beach. Think about where you plan on spending most of your time, then go from there.
What kind of ball do I want?
Size is the next consideration. Once you’re in your teens, a size 5 ball is the standard and that’s the one to get, although it can be fun to do skill sessions with a smaller ball. The only occasion you will use a smaller ball for matches is when playing futsal, which uses a size 4 ball that weighs the same as a size 5 ball.
Beyond that, you want to decide is how close to the footballs used by pros you want to go. An official FIFA-approved match ball will costs a lot more than any other ball, and although it will be made from the best materials and an absolute joy to play with, it might not be as durable as a training ball, which are built to last at the cost of some playability. Within the premium match ball bracket there is also a fair bit of variation – there are some more durable options that will be cheaper than the absolute top-end balls used in the World Cup or Champions League.
There are also specialist balls for different types of football, such as indoor balls, which are less bouncy than an outdoor ball and have a felt surface, and beach balls, which have a softer cover for playing barefoot. Astroturf surfaces tend to differ greatly but in general you can use a regular football on them. However, if you think your astroturf is particularly tough or scratchy, you’d be wise to make sure your ball has a durable outer surface.
What material should the ball be made of?
Synthetic leather is used to make the very finest footballs, which offer the best feel and control for players. PU is a durable material that is used for premium match balls and also to make most training balls, though some cheaper ones use PVC. You also need to consider what the bladder inside is made of. Latex is used in premium balls to provide a softer feel, but latex bladders require frequent inflation. Cheaper balls use heavier materials like butyl that might not feel quite as good on the foot, but will stay inflated for months at a time.
How much do I need to spend?
If you want to emulate the best in the game and play with the premium footballs that the pros use at the highest level, then you’re looking at spending £70 to £130 on one ball. Even cheaper match balls will come in at £25 to £50. Training balls cost far less, and you shouldn’t have to spend more than £20 to get a great one. In fact, good ones are easily found for under £10. There are footballs available for a couple of quid, but generally these will burst often enough that it’s financially-savvy to spend £5 to £8 on a sturdier ball. Specialist footballs like futsal, indoor and beach balls are a little more expensive; you can expect to pay around £20 to £30 for a ball, and maybe slightly more if you get an official match ball.
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The best footballs to buy from £7
1. Adidas Official World Cup 2018 Telstar 18: The best match football
Price:£75 | Buy now from Amazon
Generally, if you want the very best football in the world at any given moment, you find the biggest upcoming tournament and check out what ball they’ll be using there. That’s where you’ll find the latest in ball technology. In a World Cup year, the choice is clear. The Adidas Telstar 18 pays tribute to World Cup 2018 hosts Russia with a design inspired by the country’s urban landscape, but it’s the technical features that really excite, rather than how the ball looks.
The six panels on the Telstar 18 are all the same size and thermally bonded to produce as round a ball as possible and to protect against water absorption. It also has a seamless, textured surface with some texture to aid ball control and enhance your ability to put spin on your shots and passes. This ball will go like the clappers – expect plenty of goalkeepers to grumble about it at the World Cup. Off the pitch, there’s a NFC chip embedded in the ball which unlocks exclusive content and competitions on your smartphone.
Key specs – Surface: Grass & Astroturf; Outer Material: TPU/Polyester; Bladder Material: Latex; Panels: 6
2. Mitre Delta Professional Football: The best match football under £50
Price:£34 | Buy now from Amazon
There are many different Delta footballs to pick from in Mitre’s line-up, but this hits the spot perfectly. It boasts the FIFA Pro Quality accreditation mark of a top-level ball but at a price-tag that makes it more accessible than the official Delta ball used in the English Football League.
The PU outer is resilient and has a textured surface to enhance ball control, while the laminated power bladder inside the ball is designed to keep your shots straight and true as they fly towards to the top corner, or indeed out for a throw-in, depending on how precise your shots tend to be. The 14 panels on the outer surface are bonded using Mitre’s Hyperseam tech, which is designed to minimise water uptake and maximise air retention, so you’re not constantly having to pump up the ball.
Key specs – Surface: Grass & Astroturf; Outer Material: PU; Bladder Material: Laminated Butyl; Panels: 14
3. Nike Strike: The best training football
Price:£15 | Buy now from Amazon
A brilliant everyday football, the Nike Strike has a textured, machine-stitched outer surface that treads the line perfectly between feeling great on the foot and durability. That outer resilience is backed up by a butyl bladder, which will retain its shape and stay inflated for long periods, even if you’re using the ball every day.
The Strike comes in a huge variety of designs, including balls linked to European leagues and top players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, but all of the Nike Strike balls feature bold graphics designed to help you track the ball as it pings around the pitch. If you want a ball that plays almost as well as a match ball and is robust enough to last you many months of kickabouts, the Strike is your best bet.
Key specs – Surface: Grass & Astroturf; Outer Material: TPU; Bladder Material: Butyl; Panels: 12
4. Mitre Impel Training Football: The best training football under £10
Price:£7 | Buy now from Amazon
Pump up this popular ball once and you’re pretty much set for life. It can handle constant use on pretty much any surface and in any weather, such is its durability, and it retains air like an absolute champ. The outer is built to last, and so isn’t as silky on the foot as a premium match ball. However, there’s a soft foam lining inside which helps cushion the impact of the ball and increase its playability.
If you’re happy to spend a little more you can get the Mitre Impel Plus or Mitre Impel Max training balls for just a few pounds more. All three boast excellent durability but the outer surfaces tend to improve as you go up the line, with the Max offering a nicely-textured PU outer for increased control.
Key specs – Surface: Indoor/Laminate; Outer Material: Felt; Bladder Material: Reinforced Rubber; Panels: 32
Mitre Impel Unisex Adult Training Football, Multicolor (White/Red/Black), Size 5 (Without Ball Pump)
5. Senda Vitoria: The best futsal football
Price:£44 | Buy now from Amazon
Futsal balls are less bouncy than standard footballs, making them ideal for use on hard indoor pitches. They’re also smaller, which makes them trickier to control and kick; a fact which reinforces futsal’s image as a game for technical, skilful players, rather than old-fashioned bruisers.
The Senda Vitoria is a match-quality futsal ball with an outer made of textured PU. The DuoTech construction combines bonding and stitching to get the best of both, resulting in a durable ball that also swerves like the clappers when you toe punt it like a futsal pro. Senda also make an excellent training futsal football – the Rio – if you want a ball to use everyday while saving the Vitoria for matches.
Key specs – Surface: Indoor (Futsal); Outer Material: PU; Bladder Material: Synthetic Reinforced Rubber; Panels: 32
Senda Vitoria Match Futsal Ball, Fair Trade Certified, Green/Yellow/Navy Blue, Size 4 (Ages 13 & Up)
6. Sondico Neosa: The best indoor football
Price:£20 | Buy now from Amazon
The game changes when you take it indoors, and so should your football. The outers used on outdoor footballs will skid off underfoot on slick, hard surfaces indoors, and bounce off the walls at terrifying speeds. The felt panels of the Sondico Neosa make the ball easier to control on indoor surfaces, and also reduce how much it bounces off the walls. Even with the dampened rebound all that bouncing off the walls is hard on a ball, but the bladder in the Neosa is built to last. It should retain its shape despite the constant punishment.
Key specs – Surface: Grass & Astroturf; Outer Material: PVC; Bladder Material: Not given; Panels: 18
7. Senda Playa: The best beach football
Price:£23 | Buy now from Amazon
All outdoor footballs require some sort of water resistance but, as you can imagine, the peril of having the sea so close at hand makes this a real priority with beach footballs. The Senda Playa outer is made from six large water resistant panels, which are hand-stitched to provide extra durability.
The other key feature of beach footballs is that they are softer than other balls, for the simple reason that players are barefoot. The Playa’s padded outer is backed up by four layers of polyester/cotton linings to make it softer, and these also help the ball retain its shape. As well as being padded, the outer layer is designed to be resistant to the abrasive effects of playing on sand, so it will last many trips to the beach without getting scuffed up.
Key specs – Surface: Sand & Grass; Outer Material: Padded; Bladder Material: Latex; Panels: 6
