According to a report from the Athletic, the Premier League are set to end their 25-year partnership with Nike, with PUMA set to take over as the official match ball supplier when the current deal ends in 2025.
The 23/24 season marks Nike’s 24th year as official ball supplier to the Premier League, but a new report from David Ornstein of The Athletic says that it’s all set to end, with the 24/25 season being the last of the partnership. The report states that “Nike had the chance to extend a 25-year partnership but negotiations failed to reach a positive conclusion.” The report goes on to say that “The Premier League has now reached an agreement with German firm PUMA to supply match balls for all its fixtures from the 2025-26 season.” The end of an era.
PUMA currently supplies the match balls for both La Liga and Serie A, as well as the English Football League. The current model is the Orbita, which uses cutting-edge technology to create an optimal ball that maintains its shape and allows for less water absorption.
When the Premier League first commenced, Mitre were the official match ball supplier, with Nike taking over in the 2000/01 season with the Nike Geo Merlin.
Pretty sure this is one of the 12 signs of the apocalypse. Oh well, may as well make the most of the time we have left and take a look at every Nike Premier League match ball here.
The Nike Flight 23/24 Premier League match ball is available at prodirectsport.com/soccer
