India in 2010 Fifa Final

While the Indian football team will be watching the World Cup action on TV, there will be a significant bit of India in every match.

Andreas Gellner, Adidas India managing director, is no prophet but he does know who will be in the 2010 Fifa World Cup final in South Africa. Jabulani. No, that’s not some African underdog team doing a Senegal (they made the quarterfinals in 2002, beating defending champion France in their opening match), but the official match ball for football’s greatest show. And while the Indian football team will be watching the action on TV, there will be a little of India in every match, courtesy Jabulani. The latex bladder used in the ball is manufactured in India. What’s that? The bladder makes up the inside of the ball, which enables it to be pressurised. The ball itself has 11 different colours, representing the 11 players in each team, the 11 official languages of South Africa and the 11 tribes in the country. And as Oscar-winning actor Charlize Theron announced, Jabulani means ‘to celebrate’ in isiZulu, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa. If you say so, Charlize, how can we not?

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Sohini Chattopadhyay