Murugiah & Maxime Manga x Pupila World Cup footballs

From the Jabulani to the Tango: everyone has their favourite World Cup match ball. Each design is enshrined in footballing folklore, woven into the fabric of sporting history.

So, Costa Rican branding agency Pupila invited artists from each of the 32 nations playing at next month’s quadrennial kick-a-thon to design their own football. The Different Folk had two proud entries: Murugiah for Wales (yes, they qualified this time) and Maxime Manga for the mighty Cameroon.

Murugiah’s design is a pattern of reds, blues and yellows: a swirl of colours that will light up the sky as it’s launched into the top-corner. Maxime’s black, white and gold leaf effort features his trademark digital brushstrokes and geometric patterns; it includes the referee’s whistle, the centre circle and the eyes of the watching world.

As part of Pupila’s BOLA project, each design is being crafted by the world’s only not-for-profit ball manufacturer, Alive and Kicking, based in Kenya. And they’ll be available for purchase: perfect for the discerning Wednesday night five-a-side player.