Investigating static water uptake characteristics and mechanisms for leather and synthetic association footballs

Abstract In association football, players repetitively head the ball for competitive advantages, potentially inducing or exacerbating repetitive acute asymptomatic brain injury pertaining to an elevated risk of neurodegenerative disease development and mortality in later life. During these collisions, the mass of the ball is widely considered an important determinant to collision duress. Many anecdotes cite differences in water uptake characteristics between modern and historical balls, but this