Uniforia is the new adidas match ball for Euro 2020, named in honour of the unity and euphoria (UNITY + EUPHORIA) that football brings to this very special EURO. The footballs are designed to celebrate the sense of unity that next year’s tournament will inspire across the continent as part of its new look for 2020.
New EURO 2020 football
Just as with the Telstar 18, the ball for Russia 2018 brings with it a source of inspiration, a story – something I’ve personally loved – as, drawing inspiration from the revamped format of the tournament – which will be played across 12 different European countries for the first time – Uniforia’s design celebrates the idea of building bridges, blurring borders and embracing the diversity of fans and athletes, through a unique fusion of art and football. These elements formed the starting point for the ball’s design process, which began in 2018.
According to Anika Marie Kennaugh, a product designer at adidas: “When we design an official match ball for Euro 2020, we always seek to reflect the culture; what is the spirit of the streets that we can proudly showcase in the stadium? What we saw in our cities – all our key cities – is the need to come together and unite for change. As one of the world’s most important sporting events, UEFA EURO 2020 is a great opportunity to proudly showcase the power of unity and celebrate sport as a force that brings people, ideas and creativity together.”
As well as bringing together two powerful forces – unity and euphoria – this new official match ball celebrates nothing less than the 60th anniversary of the UEFA Euro. As we mentioned earlier, the tournament is bringing the action closer to supporters and fans, as the matches will not be played in a single country but will take place across 12 host cities: London, Glasgow, Dublin, Bilbao, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, St Petersburg, Munich, Budapest, Rome, Bucharest and Baku: the GPS coordinates of each stadium feature intricate designs in Uniforia, commemorating this unique and historic format.
The current adidas ball designs are characterised by being 11-a-side footballs that offer the same high-performance structure and panels seen in recent FIFA World Cup models, but with an exclusive ‘Hi-White’ material, which allows for better visibility on the pitch for players.
Finally, Florian Alt, Vice-President of Brand Marketing at adidas, said: “In this innovative tournament, adidas will celebrate football – and sport – as a force that brings the world together. Football is for everyone, regardless of who you are, where you come from or what surface you play on; it brings us all together in the game. With Uniforia, whilst it is just a symbol, it is a symbol that we can all, and must, unite behind.”
