Official FIFA 1998 World Cup ball in France

Adidas Tricolore model

Tricolore by Adidas was the official match ball of 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. It was the first multi-coloured ball to be used in the finals. Before this ball Adidas always used the black color as the main color in its designs. It was also the last world cup ball to bear the classic tango design introduced in 1978 (black triads). The blue design was to represent the colours of the french national team who were the hosts of the world cup in 1998. Tricolores were also the first adidas world cup match-balls manufactured outside of Europe (made in Morocco) since the 1970 telstar. The name of Tricolore comes from the 3 colors which is composed of the french flag. You can appreciate the typical french rooster on the triads of the ball. This rooster is in the french shield of the national team. The Tricolore ball had a special synthetic foam. But the most important technical feature was an advanced compact material of closed gas-filled microbubbles. If you pay attention on the surface's ball, you will be able to see a small circles, they are the microbubbles. The foam further increased the durability of the ball and energy recovery.