Few objects in football history have attracted quite so much contempt as the Adidas Jabulani. When it debuted at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the reaction from players was almost unanimous. Fabio Capello, then England manager, called it "the worst ball that I have seen in my life". David James described it as "dreadful". Brazil's Júlio César compared it to something you might pick up at a supermarket. Robinho suggested whoever designed it had never actually played the game. The knuckling, unpredictable flight it produced at pace became one of the tournament's defining frustrations.

Sixteen years on, that same ball is the most prized possession in a niche but growing sport — and it is changing hands for upwards of £500.

The world's best footgolfer and his prized collection

Ben Clarke, a Hertfordshire-based athlete who has topped the footgolf world rankings five times, inflates his collection of Jabulanis roughly once a month. Some of them have never been kicked. They sit in their original boxes, pristine, treated more like fine wine than sporting equipment. Clarke readily admits the situation is peculiar.

"It's a bit mad," he says. "No one could control the ball in the World Cup, but here we are using it for a precision sport. We all trust it and rely on it. It's very strange."

Footgolf — for the uninitiated — tasks players with kicking a football around a course and into 18 oversized holes in as few strokes as possible. It rewards consistency, accuracy and controlled flight rather than raw power. Which is precisely why the Jabulani, once vilified for its chaos, has become so valued.

An engineering defect that became a sporting virtue

The explanation lies in the physics of how the Jabulani was built. Constructed from just eight thermally bonded panels — significantly fewer than the 14 used in its predecessor, the 2006 Adidas Teamgeist — it was the smoothest, most spherical ball ever made at the time. At the high speeds typical of top-level football, and with minimal spin, those near-seamless panels generated a chaotic knuckleball effect that made goalkeepers' lives a misery.

But footgolfers strike the ball differently. Using the inside of the foot to generate consistent spin, they find the Jabulani's reduced seams allow it to travel further and more predictably than any other ball available. A handful of other Adidas models from the same era — the Teamgeist, Terrapass, Speedcell and original Torfabrik — come close, but none have been in production for roughly 15 years.

Scarcity meeting demand has sent prices soaring. Clarke recalls paying around £250 for one approximately three years ago; the same ball now fetches £500 or more. He has not bought one since, and acknowledges the risks involved in actually using them competitively. "It can be an expensive mistake if you kick it into a tree and it bursts," he notes drily.

A sport searching for a long-term solution

The footgolf community is under no illusions about where this trajectory leads. Sean Rontree, a director of footgolf's governing body in England, holds three Jabulanis and three Speedcells in his personal collection. He considers an end point inevitable.

"There will come a time when there won't be any more on the market," Rontree warns. Discussions with Adidas about a fresh production run have come to nothing. The manufacturer's minimum viable order — reportedly around 10,000 balls — is beyond the sport's financial reach.

That leaves the footgolf world in a curious bind. It is a precision sport whose practitioners are locked in an arms race to stockpile the very piece of equipment that made a World Cup tournament look embarrassing. The Jabulani's reputation among footballers has barely softened. Among footgolfers, it is irreplaceable.

Sometimes the worst tool for one job turns out to be exactly the right tool for another.

Frequently asked

What is footgolf and how do you play it?
Footgolf is a sport that combines elements of football and golf. Players kick a standard football around a course, aiming to get it into 18 oversized holes in as few kicks (strokes) as possible. Like golf, the lowest score wins.
Why is the Adidas Jabulani so expensive now?
The Jabulani has not been manufactured for roughly 15 years, making surviving balls increasingly scarce. Elite footgolfers prize it because its near-seamless construction allows it to travel further and more consistently than any modern ball when struck with controlled spin, pushing prices to £500 or more for boxed examples.
Why was the Jabulani so controversial at the 2010 World Cup?
The Jabulani's eight thermally bonded panels reduced seams to a minimum, creating an unusually smooth surface. When struck at high speed with little spin — as footballers typically shoot or cross — it produced an erratic knuckleball flight that was extremely difficult for goalkeepers to read or for outfield players to control accurately.