Since 1947 SELECT has been a leading brand when it comes to ball innovation and production.
We are always trying to improve our balls, which has lead to many revolutionary inventions.
On this page you can learn more about the science behind our balls.
The revolutionary 32 panels
Every single football and handball from SELECT is based on the revolution from 1962, where our founder, Eigil Nielsen, invented a ball made of 32 panels. The overriding desire was to create the most reliable ball with the most predictable, straight flight and a bounce neither too high nor too low.
It was impossible to make a perfectly round ball with just 18 panels, which was the standard construction of a ball in the past. With the 32 panels - 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons - SELECT succeeded in creating the roundest ball ever seen. Later, a group of American scientists won the Nobel Prize for discovering that the molecules of carbon with a special irradiation organize themselves as a complete round ball - something Eigil Nielsen had already discovered and realized in his football with 32 panels, why the reinvention was named “the football molecule”.
A ball with optimum roundness is essential to obtain reliable aerodynamic - a straight flight and a controlled bounce. Our finest football, BRILLANT SUPER TB, has been thoroughly tested in a wind tunnel at the Institute of Health & Sports Science at the University in Tsukuba, Japan. The ball’s classic construction with 32 panels means that the ball meets resistance at a later point in its trajectory through the air, thus retaining a steady, high speed over a longer period of time. This provides a stable and more predictable flight – highly valued by all football players.
All of our footballs and handballs today are still based on Eigil Nielsen’s original invention of the 32 panel ball construction, as we never compromise on quality, playability or durability.
Understand how our balls are sewn together
Handsewn
The 32 panels are sewn together by hand using 630 double stitches and 60 corner stitches and are closed off – especially for SELECT – with a doubleknot. The ball lasts longer this way.
Machine sewn
The machine stitched footballs are very similar to our hand-stitched ones. During production, the football panels are sewn together with a special sewing machine and a fine thread. Only soft, foamed materials can be used. The seam pattern is uneven, and the finishing stitching is always done by hand. While the end result does not reach the level of our hand-stitched footballs, a solid football is produced nevertheless.
Dual bonded
The panels are printed with 3 mm edge glue and stitched. In the heat mold, the glue is activated to hide the stitches. The seam sealing is done by hand, and the glue in the seams reduces the water uptake significantly.
Ultra Sonic bonded
In 2021, SELECT was able to present the worlds first football welded together using ultrasonic sound waves. The new construction ensures minimal water uptake compared to a hand-stitched ball, helping the ball retains its original weight when playing on wet surfaces.
Thermo bonded
The thermo bonding method means that the 32 panels are thermally glued and bonded by heat. There are no stitches, so the TB balls take up less water and keeps the original weight better when playing on a wet surface.
INSIDE the BRILLANT SUPER TB
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PU Surface
The outer layer of the ball is made of synthetic leather in micro fiber polyurethane (PU) with a light surface structure that minimizes air resistance. The surface of this material consists of lots of PU fibres, which give the football a strong surface with consistent softness.
Bladder
Under the synthetic leather hides the loose natural latex Zero-Wing bladder with built-in balance point in the opposite end of the valve hole. The bladder is made of high performance natural latex. The concept has been developed to ensure that not only the ball but also the bladder is as round as possible. On the outside of the bladder is a lining made of a 4 mm thick and exclusive foam material. The lining helps to adjust the softness and improves the contact between the ball and the foot.
Double lock valve
The rubber material used in our valves is well known for being airtight and together with the Double Lock system, where the air must pass through two ”gates” to escape, the ball is even more airtight than the requirements demanded by FIFA.
Lining
The 32 panels on the Brillant Super TB are thermo bonded. “TB” in the product name stands for “Thermo Bonded”, which means bonded by heat - so there are no stitchings. This means that the ball takes up less water and keeps the original weight better when playing on a wet surface.
Foam
The underlying foam is made of a 4 mm thick and exclusive material that gives the ball a softer, lighter and more comfortable touch. Despite the fact that the ball feels lighter, the weight is the same as a traditional football.
INSIDE THE ULTIMATE HANDBALL
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PU Surface
The synthetic leather used in our handballs consists of an outer layer of ”grippy” PU with a backside of non-woven polyester fibre. In addition to this, the special fibre threads are inlaid in a crisscross fashion to ensure the strength and stability of the material. This ensures a ball with a perfect grip, optimal balance and extreme durability.
Bladder
The bladder is made of high performance natural latex. The Zero-Wing concept ensures optimum roundness of both the ball and the bladder. SELECT solely uses latex bladders in our balls with build-in balance point at the opposite side of the valve hole. This, together with the Zero Wing concept, gives a perfectly balanced ball with a very lively bounce.
Double lock valve
The rubber material used in our valves is well known for being airtight and together with the Double Lock system, where the air must pass through two ”gates” to escape, the ball becomes very airtight.
Lining
To stabilize the ball and to ensure that it remains round, its 32 panels are lined with several layers of textile material. The lining also helps to adjust the softness as well as the weight of the ball.
Foam
The most important factor regarding the softness of the ball is a layer of neoprene foam placed between the lining and the synthetic leather. The foam maintains its softness and elasticity game after game. ULTIMATE is the only model produced using specially developed Shark Skin Foam. This makes it an even softer and thoroughly fantastic ball.
inside the brillant super iBall
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PU Surface
The outer layer of the ball is made of synthetic leather in micro fiber polyurethane (PU) with a light surface structure that minimizes air resistance. The surface of this material consists of lots of PU fibres, which give the football a strong surface with consistent softness.
Bladder with chip
KINEXON has made a sensor with ultra-small form and weight, and SELECT has integrated that sensor seamlessly into the bladder. Using radio technology, the sensor transmits its position and movement data around 50 times per second. The sensor provides position data with an exceptional fast rate, and the ball data can be synchronized within 1 millisecond with player tracking data. The possibility of linking (the already known) player tracking data, with this new ball tracking data, makes it possible to display a complete match in all its complexity.
Double lock valve
The rubber material used in our valves is well known for being airtight and together with the Double Lock system, where the air must pass through two ”gates” to escape, the ball is even more airtight than the requirements demanded by FIFA.
Lining
Brillant Super iBall is stitched by hand. The 32 panels are sewn together using 630 double stitches and 60 corner stitches and are closed off (especially for SELECT) with a double knot. The ball lasts longer this way.
Foam
The underlying foam is made of a 2 mm thick and exclusive material that gives the ball a softer, lighter and more comfortable touch.
Ultra Zonic bonded – Groundbreaking technology
The Brillant Super UZ is the world’s first football made with ultrasonic technology. We have created a ball with unsurpassed control and amazin aerodynamics as the new contruction method ensures the perfect indentation between the panel and an even more stable flight benefiting both players and goalkeepers.
The Danish 3F Superliga, Nordic Bet Liga, Gjensidige Kvindeliga and the Danish National Teams in football are the only ones playing with the ball.
A superb football made using a completely new construction method with ultrasonic sound waves bonding the 32 panels together.
The ball is composed of carefully selected quality materials with the characteristics of a classic SELECT ball.
The new 3D diamond structure of the surface material ensures an even more stable trajectory, optimized friction between ball and boot and the best grip for goalkeepers.
The new construction ensures minimal water uptake compared to a hand-stitched ball, helping the ball retains its original weight when playing on wet surfaces.
Beneath the outer material, the ball has a newly developed lining consisting of two different foam materials and a Zero Wing latex bladder with a built-in balance point, located opposite the valve hole.
The outer material and the underlying foam ensure a light and soft touch.
Balls made with recycled plastic bottles
All our Planet balls are partly made from recycled plastic bottles.
The synthetic leather used for all our balls in our SELECT Planet Family are made by recycled PET bottles, and all the Planet balls are produced with a special underlining, where 80% of the material comes from recycled plastic bottles.
Inflating instructions
See how to correctly inflate your ball here.