British artist Jon-Paul Wheatley's oversized soccer sculpture marks village's 80th anniversary as Miami Gardens hosts two matches

A monumental soccer ball sculpture has landed on Bal Harbour Village Beach at 96th Street, free and open to the public through Monday, July 27, just as the 2026 FIFA World Cup enters its knockout rounds with two matches headed to Miami Gardens.

The piece is "12 Pentagons," a larger-than-life "Badly Drawn Ball" by British artist and football designer Jon-Paul Wheatley. It moved to the beachfront on Tuesday, July 1, after an initial run at Bal Harbour Shops through late June. The installation marks Bal Harbour Village's 80th anniversary.

Artist built following of 1.7 million with handcrafted, lopsided soccer balls

Wheatley founded the 12 Pentagons studio, a football design platform. Through his social media account @jonpaulsballs, he handcrafts one-of-one soccer balls and has built a following of more than 1.7 million. He has collaborated with FIFA, Adidas and Burberry.

The concept behind the series: most people, when asked to draw a soccer ball from memory, get it wrong. Lopsided hexagons, wrong proportions. Those imperfections become the art.

Sculpture's run overlaps with quarterfinal, third-place matches in Miami Gardens

The timing lines up with Miami's World Cup moment. A quarterfinal match is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, at Miami Gardens' Hard Rock Stadium at 5 p.m. ET, featuring the winner of Brazil vs. Norway against the winner of Mexico vs. England. The third-place playoff returns to Miami Gardens on Saturday, July 18, at 5 p.m. ET. Both matches fall within the sculpture's run on the beach.

Bal Harbour Village has also partnered with the Museum of Art and Design to offer complimentary access for village residents and hotel guests to the FIFA Museum's "Unidad – The World's Game" exhibition at the Freedom Tower in Miami, according to the village's official website.

Balls also on display in hotel lobbies across four U.S. cities

Wheatley's work extends beyond South Florida. His handcrafted soccer ball sculptures are on display in hotel lobbies in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland through a partnership with The Hoxton. Individual Badly Drawn Balls are available for purchase at Bal Harbour Shops.

The sculpture is free to visit at Bal Harbour Village Beach, 96th Street, through Monday, July 27.