Brazilian Babies Born Tuesday To Get 'Brazuca' World Cup Soccer Ball

(adidas)

Now here's an unusual baby gift: All children born in Brazil on Tuesday will get a soccer ball.

That's the day Adidas unveils the ball that will be used at next year's World Cup. The company says the giveaway is part of a marketing campaign based on the notion that every Brazilian is born with a soccer ball at his or her feet.

The 2014 World Cup ball is called "Brazuca," an informal word often used in the South American nation to connote national pride.

Adidas announced on Friday that parents of every baby born on Dec. 3 will be entitled to redeem a ball on Dec. 6 or 7 at sites in all 12 cities that are hosting Cup games. Parents will need to present the child's birth certificate.

The German sporting goods manufacturer has been making the soccer balls used at every Cup since the 1970 tournament in Mexico City, at which the iconic 32-panel, black-and-white Telstar model was used. But its designs have occasionally caused controversy.

Before the 2010 Cup in South Africa, many people – including at least one NASA scientist – predicted that the Jabulani model designed for that tournament would "knuckleball" without spin, moving in unpredictable directions, more frequently as well as carry faster and farther than more traditional designs.

The Brazuca is made of six textured panels – the Jabulani had eight – and the company promises that the ball will perform more like Adidas’ Finale 13 model, which is used in Champions League play, rather than the Jabulani.

It has become traditional for Adidas to unveil its World Cup model the day that FIFA holds its draw to determine the Cup's final groups. This year, the draw is being held Friday, Dec. 6.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.