Fiction by Michele Mari: “For Bragonzi, the only beautiful thing in the sad life of the boarding school in Quarto dei Mille was the soccer matches.” ...

She says that the average African soccer ball has a brief field life of 7-90 days. The current sOccket has an exposed outlet, which makes it especially vulnerable to environmental conditions.

If the government decides President Trump’s ball is worth more than $390, it will become US property — that’s if federal agents haven’t shredded it already looking for listening devices.

A high-tech soccer ball that helps with more accurate offside decisions will make its European Championship debut next year in Germany after being used at the 2022 World Cup.