It looks as though the soccer ball and it's past iterations have been the basis for almost every other ball design in the sporting world. While scanning this page showcasing the history of the soccer ball, I spotted what looked like an American Football / Rugby ball, one that looked like a volleyball and of course one that resembled a basketball (the first basketball game was played with a soccerball). While older designs have existed for ages, the first soccer ball to employ the use of rubber was introduced in the mid-1800's by Charles Goodyear. Since then the soccer ball has continued to evolved through the use of stitching and differing sections or interlocking panels in an effort to create a perfectly spherical ball that would retain it's shape. One little fact that struck me was why the black and white panels were used (introduced in the Buckminster ball), they aided the players in perceiving any swerve on the ball. I suppose Adidas thought stripes would work just as well since their official Euro Cup ball employed stripes. And for this year's World Cup? You are looking at a pattern that is a cross between propellers and a goggle. Named the +Teamgeist, the ball does away with the traditional 32 panels and instead utilizes just 14 panels. This reduces the number of corners and allows for a more spherical shape.

Update: Just came across this article in the New York Times regarding the +Teamgeist, apparently goalies hate it.