Law 2 - The Ball - The FA

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Laws of the Game & FA Rules

Home
Rules & Regs
Laws of the Game & FA Rules
Laws
Football (11 v 11)
Law 2 - The Ball

Law 2: The Ball

IFAB Laws of the Game 2025-26

Expand Law 2 The Ball

1. Qualities and Measurements

All balls must be:

spherical
made of suitable material
of a circumference of between 68 cm (27 ins) and 70 cm (28 ins)
between 410 g (14 oz) and 450 g (16 oz) in weight at the start of the match
of a pressure equal to 0.6 – 1.1 atmosphere (600 – 1,100g/cm2) at sea level (8.5 lbs/sq in – 15.6 lbs/sq in)

All balls used in matches played in an official competition organised under the auspices of FIFA or confederations must meet the requirements and bear one of the marks of the FIFA Quality Programme for Footballs.

Each mark indicates that it has been officially tested and meets the specific technical requirements for that mark which are additional to the minimum specifications stipulated in Law 2 and must be approved by The IFAB. National FA competitions may require the use of balls bearing one of these marks. In matches played in an official competition organised under the auspices of FIFA, confederations or national football associations, no form of commercial advertising is permitted on the ball, except for the logo/emblem of the competition, the competition organiser and the authorised manufacturer’s trademark. The competition regulations may restrict the size and number of such markings.

2. Replacement of a defective ball

If the ball becomes defective:

play is stopped and
restarted with a dropped ball

If the ball becomes defective at a kick-off, goal kick, corner kick, free kick, penalty kick or throw-in, the restart is re-taken. If the ball becomes defective during a penalty kick or penalties (penalty shoot-out) as it moves forward and before it touches a player, crossbar or goalposts the penalty kick is retaken. The ball may not be changed during the match without the referee’s permission.

3. Additional Balls

Additional balls which meet the requirements of Law 2 may be placed around the field of play and their use is under the referee’s control.