{"id":2154,"date":"2019-05-03T16:03:17","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T16:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.footballkit.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2154"},"modified":"2025-10-23T15:38:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:38:21","slug":"training-vs-match-footballs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/training-vs-match-footballs\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the difference between training and match footballs?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Training-Balls-vs-Match-Balls.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-8004 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Training-Balls-vs-Match-Balls.jpg\" alt=\"Training Footballs vs Match Footballs\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What would football be without the ball? A load of feet, I guess. So, it\u2019s probably unnecessary to say that it\u2019s an important part of your equipment. The FA have their own guidelines about quality and measurements, which you can find on their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefa.com\/football-rules-governance\/lawsandrules\/laws\/football-11-11\/law-2---the-ball\">website.<\/a>\u00a0So, picking the right ball will be very important to your team&#8217;s performance. Far from being a simple decision, there are a few options that you need to decide between before you\u2019re ready to go. Thankfully, we\u2019re here with our handy guide to buying the right ball. Starting with deciding between a match football and a training football.<\/p>\n<p>But surely the difference between a training ball and a match football is a simple one, right? You use one ball for training and the other for match days. Yes, on the surface the purpose and the price might seem like the only differences between the two. However, there is a little more to the issue than that. So, what are the differences? I\u2019m glad you asked.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Training-football-150x150-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-8002 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Training-football-150x150-1.png\" alt=\"A photo of an orange Pendle training football\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Training Footballs<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Typically made to medium or high quality, training balls are made of long-wearing materials. This means they will stand up to months of heavy use in practice sessions.<\/li>\n<li>These footballs usually have a thinner layer of foam, which means it is harder to the touch.\u00a0The extra weight makes it ideal for developing your team\u2019s skills.<\/li>\n<li>They typically use a bladder that adds to its stiff feel and gives it an extra level of longevity.<\/li>\n<li>Training balls are normally designed to be used on a variety of surfaces and in all weather conditions. This accounts for the minor compromises in the football\u2019s performance. In order to make them multi-purpose, they have a slightly lower performance level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Match-football-150x150.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-8001 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Match-football-150x150.png\" alt=\"A photo of a a green and white Pendle match football in a net\" width=\"159\" height=\"159\" \/><\/a>Match Footballs<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Match footballs are all about providing top quality and great performance. However, they don\u2019t have the same ability to stand up to a lifetime of heavy use.<\/li>\n<li>In order to get the best performance, they are lighter, which means months of hard practice might not leave it in the best state. Instead, match footballs can handle short periods of intense use.<\/li>\n<li>These footballs usually feature a thicker layer of foam for added protection. This makes it softer and lighter.<\/li>\n<li>These balls are all about the performance they offer. When struck correctly, they offer the best possible flight. This allows the football to bend, dip, or rise through the air perfectly.<\/li>\n<li>They allow a player to have ultimate control over every touch of the ball. It offers the ultimate performance when it comes to passing, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/football-shooting-drills\/\">shooting<\/a>, and receiving.<\/li>\n<li>Match footballs were designed with the focus on getting the best quality and greatest performance. These balls are typically more expensive because of the extra precision that goes into creating them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ball-Net.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-8003 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ball-Net.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of some match and training footballs in a ball net\" width=\"150\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Which football is the right one for you? Well, if you\u2019re looking for a ball to have a quick kickabout with a friend or something to take to your practice sessions, we\u2019d recommend a training ball. It will be your loyal companion through the toughest of workouts and will help you develop your skills. However, if you need something to bring to your next game, then you\u2019ll want a different kind of football.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, Pendle has a wide variety of both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/footballs\/training-footballs\/\">Training Footballs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/footballs\/match-footballs\/\">Match Footballs<\/a>. Take a look at our own range and our handpicked selection of Mitre\u2019s very best. All of our footballs are made to industry-leading standards and are at prices you won\u2019t be able to resist. Don\u2019t forget, to get the best out of your footballs you need to keep them well looked after. So, whilst you\u2019re here, why not check out our Ball Pumps &amp; Accessories too? We have everything we need to keep your footballs looking as good as new.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/footballs\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Button-View-Range.jpg\" alt=\"Click to view our range of footballs\" width=\"271\" height=\"62\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; What would football be without the ball? A load of feet, I guess. So, it\u2019s probably unnecessary to say that it\u2019s an important part of your equipment. The FA have their own guidelines about quality and measurements, which you can find on their website.\u00a0So, picking the right ball will be very important to your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,7,162,166],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice","category-engine-room","category-football","category-products"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2154"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8016,"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154\/revisions\/8016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pendlesportswear.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}