Chevy brings indestructible One World Football to the Philippines

A Football game-changer has finally reached our shores: the One World Futbol.

The ball is made of ethyl-vinyl-acetate foam, similar to what is used in Crocs footwear. It is an official size and weight ball, but is designed to self-inflate, so it never needs to be pumped. Even if it gets punctured, it can still be used for play. It is meant to be a cost-effective Soccer ball for less-fortunate kids all over the world.

The ball is a project of the One World Futbol project spearheaded by Californian Tim Jahnigen, who in 2006 was inspired to make the ball after seeing footage of kids in Sudan's Darfur region playing with a ball made of tied-up trash.

Jahnigen got funding from rock star Sting, and the ball was born. The name is inspired by Sting's song “One World.” The design of the ball, which was launched during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, has since been tweaked several times.

The ball is not only puncture-proof, but also waterproof and impervious to extreme heat and cold. They have been extensively tested, by being bounced off barbed wire, run over by lawnmowers, stabbed with knives, and chewed by dogs, and yet have been proven to be playable. This makes it ideal for rocky, sandy, dirty fields in both urban and rural areas.

The One World Project website says one ball can outlast hundreds of regular balls, reducing the waste of punctured balls in the environment and forever eliminating the need to use pumps and needles. The ball can also be used for other games like Volleyball.

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The company has made tens of thousands of balls in their factory in Taiwan. The balls have been given to kids in Rwanda to help heal ethnic tensions. Orphans in Laos have played with the balls. Peace Corps volunteers in Ethiopia have used them in communities as part of an initiative called Grassroots Soccer. Gender barriers in Nepal have been brought down as Nepali girls are learning the game with the ball.

Homeless boys and girls in Mexico have been playing street soccer with the balls, and even single-leg amputees in Sierra Leone are kicking around with it.

And now, the ball has arrived to the Philippines thanks to carmaker Chevrolet.

Chevy Philippines has partnered with the One World Futbol project to give an astonishing 1.5 million balls away to disadvantaged communities all over the world. And last Friday, 17,000 copies of the spheroids arrived in the Philippines and were distributed at the Marines field in Taguig. The recipients included the Young Men's Christian Association of the Philippines, World Vision Philippines, SOS Children’s Village Philippines, Salesian Society of St. John Bosco Philippines, the LBC Foundation, the Philippine Marines Corps and Rappler's Footballs for Peace program.

Roy Moore, the executive director of Fairplay for All and co-founder of Payatas Football Club, is, unlike the ball itself, pumped up about the presence of the balls in the country.

“The whole concept of an indestructible ball is fantastic. In Payatas whenever a kid gets a ball it breaks after a few weeks. One time after the kids popped a ball the kids started playing with a Basketball. Then that ball got destroyed too. These balls will be great because now kids can have their own Footballs, play more, and reach their potential.”

“For the kids Football is a way to see another world. This ball keeps that dream alive every day.”

FFA is spearheading the Philippine team to the Street Child World Cup in Rio this year, with aspirants already whittled down to a list of 30.

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How does the ball play? Not bad at all. I brought it to my regular Monday Football group in The Camp and we did kick around with it for a bit. The ball certainly feels different from a regular ball. It's squishy to the touch and it even feels as if there is another ball inside it bouncing around.

But for certain you can kick it like any other ball and it will behave pretty much the same. It is designed to be less bouncy, so that it can be used in urban environments and other firm surfaces. Ironically, it at times seems to be even bouncier than a real ball.

There is no valve on the ball but there is a round disc on one side that has a gap around it. Squeeze the ball and a little air comes out the gap then is immediately sucked back in once you release. The air smells like brand new shoes.

The sample I had was a Size 5 but I am told Size 4s are also available.

Can you buy the ball? Not the ones Chevy brought here. There are the words “not for sale” are molded on the ball. But if you go to the ball's website, www.oneworldfutbol.com, you can order a ball for 39 Euros, or just under P2400. But when you buy one, another ball is sent to a disadvantaged community somewhere in the world. Qualified NGOs and and government groups can also request balls by emailing giving@oneworldfutbol.com.

No doubt the presence of thousands of these balls in dusty streets and rural fields all over the country will be a boost for grassroots development of the Beautiful Game. The One World Football is indestructible, just like the human spirit.

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.