{
  "id": "law-02-the-ball",
  "type": "entity",
  "name": "Law 2 - The Ball",
  "summary": "Law 2 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) fixes the ball's qualities and measurements (circumference, weight, pressure), the quality marks required in official competitions, and the procedure when the ball becomes defective during play or a restart.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "laws-of-the-game",
    "ifab",
    "ball",
    "equipment"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "cross_references",
      "target": "law-09-ball-in-and-out-of-play"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "What size and weight is an official football?",
    "What happens if the ball bursts during a match?",
    "What happens if the ball bursts during a penalty?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "The ball must be spherical, with a circumference of between 68 cm (27 ins) and 70 cm (28 ins), a weight between 410 g (14 oz) and 450 g (16 oz) at the start of the match, and a pressure equal to 0.6-1.1 atmosphere (600-1,100 g/cm2) at sea level.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-02-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.97
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "Balls used in matches of official competitions organised under FIFA or the confederations must carry a FIFA Quality Programme mark certifying the technical requirements.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-02-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.93
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "If the ball becomes defective during play, the referee stops the match and restarts with a dropped ball; if it becomes defective at a restart (kick-off, goal kick, corner kick, free kick, penalty kick or throw-in), the restart is retaken.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-02-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "If the ball bursts or becomes defective during a penalty kick or a kick from the penalty mark before it has touched a player, the goalposts or the crossbar, the kick is retaken.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-02-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.93
    },
    {
      "id": "c5",
      "text": "This object reflects the 2026/27 edition of the Laws of the Game, the current edition published by The IFAB at the verification date.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-laws-2026-27",
        "ifab-law-02-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.98
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "Ball specs circulate in inconsistent unit conversions; this object binds the exact 2026/27 figures and the defective-ball procedures, including the penalty-kick retake case most summaries omit.",
  "confidence": 0.95,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-02-the-ball",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/law-02-the-ball.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Law 2 - The Ball",
    "description": "Law 2 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) fixes the ball's qualities and measurements (circumference, weight, pressure), the quality marks required in official competitions, and the procedure when the ball becomes defective during play or a restart.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-02-the-ball",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "IFAB Laws of the Game — editions index (current edition 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws-of-the-game-documents/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 2 — The Ball (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-ball/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Law 2 - The Ball"
  }
}