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The Ball: Football’s Olympic Torch

The Ball 2014

The Ball is a symbol of tradition, fair play and respect and a celebration of football’s capacity to bring people together all over the world.

New Model Army’s “Beautiful Game”

The Spirit of Football Network

Television

  • Sky Sports News
    Chris says farewell to The Ball 2002 on Sky Sports NewsChris on Sky Sports News
    broadcast Sunday, 11th December 2005

Radio

  • BBC Radio 4
    Guests on Excess Baggage, presented by Sandi Toksvig. Broadcast Sunday, 4th June 2006. Archived BBC page here. You can listen to it on this page in the 2006 blog.

Newspapers

  • The Guardian (UK)
    Archived blog entry summarising our 2006 trip
  • FOCUS (Germany)
    Fussball statt olympische Fackel
    Battersea Park coverage and anticipation in this archived online entry
  • Thüringer Landeszeitung (Germany)
    Article about our project and our proposed visit to the city of Erfurt
  • Thüringer Allgemeine (Germany)
    Article about our project and our proposed visit to the city of Erfurt

Internet

  • BBC World Cup Blog
    Seeking Serendipity
    We love the comments people left on the blog entry
  • Guardian World Cup Blog
    Coverage of the 2006 launch in this Comment is Free blog entry
  • Global Game
    Featured in this football culture blog
The 2018 route

The Ball 2018

The Ball 2018 left England on 25th March 2018 and travelled to the World Cup in Russia.

The 2014 route

The Ball 2014

The Ball 2014 kicked off from England on 9th Jan 2014 and headed to the World Cup in Brazil.

The 2010 route

The Ball 2010

The Ball 2010 left England on 24th Jan 2010 headed to the Opening Ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The 2006 route

The Ball 2006

The Ball 2006 travelled from London to the Opening Ceremony in Munich, Germany.

The 2002 route

The Ball 2002

The Ball 2002 was carried 7000 miles across Europe and Asia to the World Cup finals in Korea & Japan.