Kerala latex powers ‘Jabulani’ at World Cup

Fans across the state, especially in the Malabar region, are celebrating the spirit of the soccer war.

Though India has failed to make it into the carnival, fans in Kerala have more reasons to cheer when `Jabulani’, the official football of World Cup 2010, rolls on South African grounds.

The bladders of the Jabulani balls are created from the latex of Kerala rubber plantations

For every 100 Jabulani that rolls, there will be about 7kg of rubber from Kerala! Jabulani means `rejoice’ in Zulu language and the ball has already courted controversies for its speed.

Latex bladders that give shape, speed and bounce to the Jabulani football are produced by Delhi-based Enkay India Rubber Co which sources most of the rubber from Kerala. The company has already supplied around 200,000 bladders to Adidas for Jabulani. “We will be sending more bladders soon. We buy most of the rubber we use from government-owned plantations in Kerala because it is of good quality,’’ a company official said.

The company focuses on sports goods, surgical equipment, shoe soles and auto parts. They have been supplying latex bladders to Adidas for a long time.

According to Mohanakumar, general manager of Plantation Corporation, the rubber latex has been sourced from government plantations in Peruanapuram near Perambra, Nilambur, Kodumon and Chandanapally.

Enkay Rubber Co is a major consumer of the corporation. “During the last financial year, Enkay purchased 12 truckloads of latex from us, which they must have used for making the bladders for Jabulani,’’ he added.

Source: Anil Nair