The Simple Power of a Durable Ball

In Uganda, a "rag ball" typical of those found in poor communities all over the world. (Photo: Coaches Across Continents)

In January 2010, one of the most destructive earthquakes in recent history struck the nation of Haiti, uprooting communities, tearing families apart, destroying homes and schools. When relief supplies arrived, children gathered, and one of their most common requests was for . . . soccer balls. But aid workers quickly discovered that a regular soccer ball lasts only a day or two in the post-earthquake destruction before it almost inevitably hits a piece of glass or concrete and deflates. The spirits of the kids and communities which rose upon receiving a ball would deflate as quickly as the punctured ball. How different—and how much better—would it be if there was a ball that could stand up to such an environment?

Inventor Tim Jahnigen was asking himself much the same question as he watched a documentary about refugees from Darfur late in 2006. Viewing footage of children playing a game of “football” on a rocky field with a makeshift ball they’d fashioned from plastic bags, trash, and twine, it dawned on him that he could produce a football that would last a lifetime by using the material in an old pair of shoes he was wearing—shoes that had later came to be marketed as Crocs.

The idea for an ultra-durable football stayed with Tim for two years but remained unattainable because he lacked the funds for necessary research and development. Then, in a chance conversation with his friend Sting, the world-renowned entertainer, came the breakthrough. When their talk turned to Tim’s idea for a new football, Sting volunteered to put up the necessary funds.

The One World Futbol™ was born.

Sting funded the development of the One World Futbol. (Photo: Nancy Jo)

The Futbol, named after Sting’s song “One World (Not Three),” required eleven months of prototyping and field testing in Africa, Haiti, Iraq, and elsewhere. Months more of relationship-building and legal work followed, establishing a mission-driven business called the One World Futbol Project™. Just one year after its public launch, the One World Futbol had already been introduced in 124 countries around the world through more than 100 nonprofit organizations, including schools, orphanages, and nonprofits using sport to resolve conflicts, teach tolerance, and build community.

The One World Futbol Project has established connections with A Ganar (Partners of the Americas), Right to Play International, Coaches Across Continents, Play Soccer Nonprofit International, Carolina for Kibera, FUNDaFIELD, the International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, Semester at Sea, and numerous other NGOs, UN agencies, and potential corporate sponsors.
The Project markets the One World Futbol through retail channels through a ”Buy One, Give One” offer, whereby for each ball purchased, another ball is donated to organizations in the field. NGOs may also buy the ball directly in large quantities from the Project at steep discounts, and the Project actively seeks corporate and other sponsors to help generate balls for distribution to worthy organizations.
The One World Futbol is a product with the potential to solve a fundamental problem in the field of sports for peace and development. Unlike standard footballs, it can be played on any terrain, even in the harsh environments of war zones, refugee camps, inner cities, and impoverished villages. The One World Futbol never deflates, never needs a pump or needle, never gets waterlogged, adjusts to differences in atmospheric pressure, temperature, or altitude, and it goes on playing even when punctured. The One World Futbol has survived the joyous play of kids in Ghana (upper right) as well as two days with the largest lion in the Johannesburg Zoo (below).