Will the Premier League balls be branded by PUMA?

The Premier League is ready to end a 25-year partnership with Nike and switch to PUMA as the official supplier of match balls. The current contract with Nike, for the English top division, expires in 2025, and as reported by The Athletic in 2023, Nike had the opportunity to extend this long-term partnership, but negotiations did not result in a positive agreement. The Premier League has now reached an agreement with PUMA to supply match balls for all league games starting from the 2025/26 season. Currently, PUMA supplies official match balls for Serie A, LaLiga, and by adding the top English league to its roster, it would solidify its presence in 3 of the 5 top European leagues. The Bundesliga uses Derbystar balls, while Ligue 1 relies on Kipsta, but there is nothing to rule out that the German company could also secure the major German and French leagues in the coming years.

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Un post condiviso da nss sports (@nsssports)

Nike's collaboration with the Premier League began in 2000 with the Nike Geo Merlin, which became the first official ball of the league in the 2000/01 season. From that moment on, Nike balls became ingrained in the collective imagination of loyal Premier League fans, blending with the aesthetics of the 2000s in the world’s most beautiful league. Nike owes much to the glory years of the Premier League and Serie A, which helped solidify the Swoosh and challenge the monopoly of adidas, which supplies the balls for the World Cup, European Championship, and Champions League, thus securing the most prestigious stages. However, Nike’s decision not to continue the partnership with the Premier League still says a lot about the brand’s strategy in recent years, in the world of sports in general, and especially in football.

Recently, many football players have abandoned the Swoosh in favor of adidas or PUMA, ending their partnerships. Also to consider is the decline in form and status of iconic players like Cristiano Ronaldo, who is nearing retirement, and who represented the brand for years. Furthermore, Nike has chosen not to renew contracts with some clubs and national teams, significantly reducing the number of teams under its banner. Notable is the "loss" of a key national team like Portugal and the partnership with Al-Nassr, important in the Saudi market. There is also talk of a possible multimillion-dollar partnership between adidas and Brazil, while Nike has recently acquired Uruguay and Germany, which will join its roster for the period 2027-2034. This strategic redesign has also involved the balls, leaving us curious to discover the brand’s next moves in the coming years.