Small Ball Supplier Strike Big Deals
Some days ago, it was announced that Molten would replace Adidas as official ball supplier of the UEFA Europa League. It is no exception as a few smaller brands have secured important official ball supplier deals recently. We take a look at which small brands replaced big brands so far.
Uhlsport, Derbystar, Molten & Other Small Brands Become Ball Supplier of Big Leagues / Competitions
Until this season, all of Europe's Top 5 leagues have been either sponsored by Adidas or Nike. However, Adidas was replaced by Uhlsport as Ligue 1 ball supplier ahead of this season, and from the 2018-19 season, Derbystar will replace Adidas as official ball supplier of the German Bundesliga.
However, the reason that the small suppliers gained the big deals from the Three Stripes recently is not that they are able to pay the leagues more than Adidas has done before but that Adidas has decided that they solely concentrate on the biggest competitions (FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro and the UEFA Champions League) to proof that their balls are at the highest level.
With small suppliers snapping up big deals, their products also come more into focus. The quality of the smaller manufacturers sometimes seems to be not on the same level as those from Adidas and Nike. Especially Mitre's League Cup ball was heavily criticized by Manchester City's players and their coach.
From the 2018-19 season, Nike will make the balls for three of the Top 5 leagues (La Liga, Premier League, Serie A), while Adidas will make the balls for none of the Top 5 leagues (Ligue 1 - Uhlsport, Bundesliga - Derbystar).
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