adidas unveils 25th anniversary UEFA Champions League match ball

Global sportswear giant adidas has launched a special 25th-anniversary UEFA Champions League match ball, celebrating a quarter-century partnership with Europe’s premier club competition.

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The commemorative release highlights adidas’s long-standing role as the official match ball supplier to the Champions League, a relationship that has become central to the tournament’s modern identity.

The limited-edition ball is a contemporary reimagining of the original adidas FINALE 1, the design that introduced the iconic “starball” motif during the 2000–01 season.

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That design has since become synonymous with Champions League football, instantly recognisable to fans across the world and closely associated with the drama of Europe’s biggest club nights.Visually, the anniversary ball stays true to its roots.

It features the familiar star panels that have defined Champions League match balls for more than two decades, reviving the classic colours and graphic print of the original starball. A modern twist has been added through a subtle colour-shifting finish that transitions from black to purple depending on the angle of view.

The ball also carries a dedicated 25-year anniversary emblem, marking adidas’s enduring partnership with UEFA.While its design leans heavily on nostalgia, the anniversary ball meets the latest performance standards.

It retains adidas’s thermally bonded, seamless construction, a technology designed to deliver consistent flight, improved accuracy, and reliable control in all playing conditions.

UEFA has confirmed that the ball will be used during Matchdays 7 and 8 of the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League season, giving the commemorative design a place in competitive action.

adidas’s association with the Champions League has spanned some of the competition’s most iconic moments. From Zinedine Zidane’s unforgettable volley in the 2002 final to the goal-scoring exploits of Lionel Messi, the starball has been present throughout eras defined by elite talent and historic matches.

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In more recent years, a new generation of players have continued that legacy under the same distinctive graphic. Beyond the pitch, the Champions League starball has grown into one of football’s most recognisable symbols, representing excellence, prestige, and the highest level of club competition.

Each edition reflects the evolving story of the tournament, from dramatic group-stage encounters to finals played before packed stadiums across Europe.

The 25th-anniversary match ball is also being made available to fans and collectors through adidas stores, selected retailers, and online platforms, offering supporters the opportunity to own a piece of Champions League history.