The Premier League clubs are training with the old Nike balls

The partnership between Nike and the Premier League has marked an era: while over the years, the boots, templates, and patterns of major sportswear brands have alternated, the one constant throughout the 2000s of the Premier League, now in its 25th year, has been the balls. From 2000 to 2004, on a biennial basis, and from the 2004/2005 season on, annually, a new design captured the eyes of fans of the world’s most beautiful league, in the classic dual version, including of course the winter yellow one. First with the Geo Merlin, and then with the Aerow I and II (those from the Total90 line), Nike established itself as a top brand in this sector as well. In short, it must not have been a huge challenge to create buzz around the match balls, especially considering that, before Nike took over, the official supplier of the Premier League balls was Mitre, a brand swept away by the excitement of the golden age Nike was about to experience in football around the early 2000s – more specifically, around the 2002/03 season.

From next season, PUMA will be the official supplier for Premier League balls, a historic change that marks a significant step forward for the German company. Nike’s heritage in the football world is measured by the aesthetic mark it has been able to leave not only on individual teams but also on different leagues. Nike has been a major player, for example, in the ball scene, drawing a clear line between the old era of balls made by individual clubs and the modern era of a single ball for each league. And today, those balls that have marked the history of some of the most famous European leagues seem to be making a comeback. Last weekend, both Chelsea and Liverpool used the Nike Merlin and Ordem 3, which seems to be part of a much broader communication plan by Nike, a perfect way to close out a 25-year-long partnership.

Nike is a master at playing with emotions. And considering that from next season, PUMA will be the new official supplier for Premier League balls, along with the "easter eggs" – if we can call them that – in the recent Instagram posts by Liverpool and Chelsea, we can't help but think that the Swoosh has something special in store for us with these reissues of the old balls. Will they be sold? Most likely yes, but we prefer to dream big and also dream of a nostalgic Premier League day, where every match is played with a 2000s ball. It's a scenario for dreamers, but also quite likely, which would also fit perfectly with Nike's operation to revive the Total 90 aesthetic: it now seems almost certain that next season, Nike-sponsored clubs will play with the Total 90 templates, and the Total 90 III boots will officially return in March. Therefore, this scenario isn’t even that improbable.