Without the adidas ball, the Champions League loses part of its visual identity After 25 years, UEFA’s top competition will no longer be played with the star-panel ball
The UEFA Champions League is the most coveted European competition and the one with the greatest global appeal. Its fame is not only due to the teams and the stars that bring it to life, but also to a well-defined visual identity, built season after season. Every detail – from video commercial to colors, from sponsors to commercial partners – has played a more than significant role, along with a mix of winning ingredients, including, of course, the anthem. For instance, a huge role has been played by the ball, supplied by adidas since the 2000/2001 season: it has famously been called the "Star Panel" thanks to its star-shaped panel structure, functioning as a true extension of the competition’s visual identity and DNA. In other words, the Champions League is the competition where Europe’s biggest stars compete, and part of its communication has been built around this concept: from iconic commercials to the match ball.
The new Champions League ball
According to the latest rumors the ball is ready to make way for something new: adidas will no longer be the official supplier of the Champions League and is expected to give way to Nike, which will therefore face the difficult task of replacing an iconic brand that has become one with the UCL. Returning to visual identity, the star-shaped structure has for years been a distinctive element, not only on the ball. For example, all Champions League commercials to date have featured a virtual stadium enclosed within a sort of spherical cage with a star-shaped structure, directly recalling the ball’s design.
What the new ball designed by Nike will look like is still entirely unknown; what is certain is that the Swoosh will effectively usher in a new phase of renewal for the Champions League. In addition to the change of ball supplier (scheduled for the 2026/27 season), from 2027/28 the competition will also lose one of its longest-standing and most significant partnerships, the one with Heineken, which in the meantime has partially compensated by signing an agreement with Juventus. It may seem excessive to place so much importance on a commercial sponsor, but it is undeniable that they have also contributed to building the Champions League’s reputation, or at least the collective memory associated with it – in Heineken’s case, it is worth noting that the brand’s main visual detail is precisely a star. Even the Russian multinational Gazprom – with which UEFA terminated all collaboration across competitions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – was a clear example, with its 2013 commercial still remembered today as one of the best ever created for the Champions League.
In short, one of the challenges UEFA will have to face in the months and years ahead will be dealing with the disappearance of certain elements that, over time, have helped make the world’s greatest competition what it is.
