August 23 – Adidas has unveiled the match balls for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women’s Champions League ahead of the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign next month.
Inspired by the pre-match UEFA Champions League anthems that reverberate around stadiums at the start of every game, the new designs pay tribute to these iconic symphonies.
Against a backdrop of metallic silver, the men’s version of the official match ball incorporates one distinct letter from the iconic chorus lyric, ‘THE CHAMPIONS’, on to each one of its twelve stars. Each star is embellished with musical notes, continuing the theme.
Adidas say that the bold purple, red and blue are designed to reflect the royalty of Europe’s elite as they fight for the continent’s greatest prize.
The introduction of a distinct Women’s Champions League anthem in the 2021/22 season marked the start of a new dawn for the competition. In light of that moment, the new design incorporates the lyrics of the song in two of the ball’s star panels, creating a circular text pattern in bright orange.
Adidas say that both balls are optimised to cope with the demands of the modern game, incorporating a range of adidas performance technology such as a PRISMA surface texture which offers increased precision on the ball. The outer texture coating, found on all Champions League and Women’s Champions League official match balls, offers a more secure grip and control on the ball while the thermally bonded seamless construction ensures the balls retain optimum shape .
The match ball will not feature inbuilt sensors as seen at the 2022 World Cup.
The UCL group draw will take place on the 31 August 2023 in Monaco once the playoffs have reached their conclusion. Matchday 1 of the UCL campaign is scheduled for September 19/20.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1734799123labto1734799123ofdlr1734799123owedi1734799123sni@o1734799123fni1734799123