Nike eyes Champions ball
UEFA may hand the Champions League match‑ball contract to Nike from 2027–2031, which would end Adidas’ 25‑year run and trigger a redesign of the tournament ball — a notable branding shift for Europe’s biggest club competition. Negotiations are reported as exclusive talks and, if completed, would reshape a familiar piece of the Champions League’s visual identity. (theguardian.com) (nytimes.com)
The ball with the stars that has been part of Champions League nights for a quarter century could disappear in 2027, because Union of European Football Associations is in exclusive talks to hand the match-ball contract to Nike through 2031. Adidas has supplied the competition’s ball since 2001, after taking the rights from Nike that year. (nytimes.com) This is not just about the Champions League final on television once a year. The proposed deal would cover all Union of European Football Associations men’s club competitions, including the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League, for the 2027 to 2031 cycle. (reuters.com) The talks are being run by UC3, the joint venture between Union of European Football Associations and the European Club Association that now handles the business side of these tournaments. UC3 said on April 9 that Nike had entered exclusive negotiations, which means Union of European Football Associations is trying to finish a deal with one company rather than reopening the auction. (reuters.com) Adidas’ hold on this property has been unusually long for sports marketing. Union of European Football Associations and Adidas marked 25 years of partnership in January 2026 by unveiling an anniversary version of the official match ball, built around the same star-panel look that became tied to the competition in the early 2000s. (uefa.com) That star pattern matters because the ball became part of the tournament’s branding, not just its equipment. Adidas still describes itself as the official supplier of Union of European Football Associations Champions League balls, and its retail pages sell the competition as a recognizable product line in its own right. (adidas.com) If Nike completes the switch, the redesign will be immediate and visible, because Nike cannot simply keep using Adidas’ signature visual language. Reporting on the talks says a Nike win would end the “starball” era on the match ball itself, even if the tournament’s larger branding stays in place. (theguardian.com) There is a business cycle behind this, not just a design choice. Union of European Football Associations has been reshaping its commercial rights for the post-2027 period through UC3, and the match-ball package is being sold alongside a broader refresh of sponsorship and media arrangements. (sportcal.com) Nike has been trying to rebuild momentum in football after years in which Adidas owned some of the sport’s most familiar visual territory. Taking the ball contract back from Adidas would give Nike a guaranteed place in every kick-off, every close-up, and every highlight clip from Europe’s biggest club matches for four seasons. (reuters.com) Adidas is not losing the contract tomorrow. Its current agreement runs through the end of the 2026 to 2027 season, so the earliest a Nike ball would appear in these competitions is the 2027 to 2028 campaign. (sportspro.com) So the next two Champions League seasons are likely to look familiar, and then one of the tournament’s most recognizable objects could change all at once. For a competition that has kept the same ball supplier since 2001, that is a bigger break with habit than it sounds. (nytimes.com)
