{{Short description|Footballs used for major international events in the mid-1990s}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox product | title = Adidas Questra | image = 1994 Questra.jpg | image_size = 200 | alt = | caption = | type = [[ball (association football)|Football]] | inventor = | inception = {{start date and age|1994}} | manufacturer = [[Adidas]] | available = | current supplier = | last production = | models = | website = | notes = }} '''Questra''' is the name given to a family of [[ball (association football)|football]]s originally produced by [[Adidas]] for major international events in the mid-1990s. Named after "the quest for the stars," successive versions of the ball were produced for the [[football at the 1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Olympic tournament]] and [[Euro 1996]]. The ''Questra'' was also the official ball of Spanish [[La Liga]].<ref name=soccball>[http://www.soccerballworld.com/Questra.htm Adidas Questra] on Soccerball world (archived, 12 Feb 2004)</ref>
== History == The first ball of the family was simply named the Questra and was originally designed to be the [[List of FIFA World Cup official match balls|official match ball]] of the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]] in the [[United States]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060202102259/http://www.adidas-group.com/en/bizmedia/WorldCup/ball_history/default.asp Adidas ball history (1970-2002)] on Adidas (archived, 2 Feb 2006)</ref> Following the convention of the addition of decorations to the established [[Adidas Tango]] style since the [[Adidas Azteca|Azteca]] and the [[Adidas Etrusco Unico|Etrusco Unico]], this one featured space-themed decorations, not only due to its name, but that 1994 marked the 25th anniversary of the [[Apollo 11|Apollo 11 mission]] in which the first Moon landing took place, which is considered to be one of the most important moments in the history of the host country and the world.
Due to the popularity of that ball, there were two new editions of the Questra released in 1996. One of them was named the ''"Questra Europa"'' and was intended to be the [[List of UEFA European Championship official match balls|official match ball]] of [[UEFA Euro 1996]] in [[England]], while the other one was bearing the name ''"Questra Olympia"'' and was the official match ball of the football tournament at the [[Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Summer Olympics]]. Both of these balls reported colours.
In the development process of the Questra, Adidas tried to create a lighter and more responsive ball. By manufacturing the new ball from five different materials and enveloping it in polystyrene foam, Adidas made the Questra more waterproof and allowed for greater acceleration when kicked. Consequently, the ball became softer to touch and ball control was improved. This showed within a week of the World Cup in 1994, as players quickly adapted to the new ball and were able to score great goals by utilizing the lighter ball. However, some [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeepers]] complained of the ball's unpredictability in humid weather, which made saving shots on goal particularly difficult.<ref name=soccball/>
The last edition of the Questra was the ''"Questra Apollo"'', which was used in [[La Liga]] matches and by the [[Spain national football team|Spanish national team]] in the 1996–97 season. The Questra Apollo was identical to the original Questra from the 1994 World Cup, except for bearing the logo of the [[Royal Spanish Football Federation]].
The ball was used in the [[Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004)|Intercontinental Cup]] from the 1994 to 1997 editions.
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{S-start}} {{Succession box|title=[[List of FIFA World Cup official match balls|FIFA World Cup official ball]]|before=[[Adidas Etrusco Unico|Etrusco Unico]] |after=[[Adidas Tricolore|Tricolore]]|years=[[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]]}} {{succession box|title=[[List of UEFA European Championship official match balls|UEFA European Championship official ball]]|before=[[Adidas Etrusco Unico|Etrusco Unico]]|after=[[Adidas Terrestra Silverstream|Terrestra Silverstream]]|years=[[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]]}} {{S-end}}
{{Adidas}} {{FIFA World Cup official match balls}} {{UEFA European Championship symbols}} {{UEFA Euro 1996}}
[[Category:Adidas footballs|Questra]] [[Category:1994 FIFA World Cup]] [[Category:Products introduced in 1994]] [[Category:UEFA Euro 1996]] [[Category:UEFA European Championship balls]]