A fundamental study of an infront curve kick in football

The purpose of this study is to analyze the fundamental characteristics that cause a (soccer) football to spin in an infront curve kick. An experimental study of players carrying out an infront curve kick was observed using a high-speed camera (FASTCAM-ultima), capable of recording at 4500 frames per second with a resolution of 256 x 256 pixels. The average foot velocity was found to be 24.2 m/s and the average ball velocity was 27.1 m/s. The average spin rate of the infront curve kick in this study was 7.8 revolutions per second and the average attacking angle was found to be 35.4 degrees. A finite element study of the kick was carried out and was found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. The study showed that a foot orientation at impact, with the attacking angle between the face vector and the swing vector, generates the optimum moment with which to generate ballspin for an infront curve kick.