- Adidas Questra
Questra was the name given to a family of footballs originally produced by
Adidas for major international events in the mid-1990s. The name was derived from an ancient word meaning "the quest for the stars." [http://www.soccerballworld.com/Questra.htm Questra ] ]The first ball of the family was simply named the Questra and was originally designed to be the official match ball of the
1994 FIFA World Cup in theUnited States . Due to the popularity of that ball, there were two new editions of the Questra released in 1996. One of them was named the Questra Europa and was intended to be the official match ball of the Euro 1996 inEngland , while the other one was bearing the name Questra Olympia and was the official match ball of the football tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics.In the development process of the Questra, Adidas tried to create a lighter and more responsive ball. By manufacturing the new ball from five different materials and enveloping it in polystyrene foam, Adidas made the Questra more waterproof and allowed for greater acceleration when kicked. Consequently, the ball became softer to touch and ball control was improved. This showed within a week of the World Cup in 1994, as players quickly adapted to the new ball and were able to score great goals by utilizing the lighter ball. However, some goalkeepers complained of the ball's unpredictability in humid weather, which made saving shots on goal particularly hard. [ [http://www.soccerballworld.com/Questra1994.htm Questra 1994 ] ]
The last edition of the Questra was the Questra Apollo, which was used in the Spanish League matches and by the Spanish national team in the 1996-97 season. The Questra Apollo was identical to the original Questra from the 1994 World Cup except for bearing the logo of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
Notes
External links
* [http://www.adidas-group.com/en/bizmedia/WorldCup/ball_history/default.asp Adidas ball history]
* [http://www.soccerballworld.com/Questra.htm Soccer Ball World's story about the Questra footballs, including pictures]
* [http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/foulbal.htm Making of Soccer Balls and Child Poverty]
* [http://yotufutbol.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3 History&Photo of Adidas Questra]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
