No More Nike After 25 Years: Puma to Make Premier League Ball

Jul 14, 2023

by Patrick

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Nike's run as ball supplier to the Premier League will end in 2025, with Puma taking over, according to the Athletic.

No More Nike - Puma To Make Official PL Ball from 2025

Nike have been the Premier League's official match ball partner since the 00-01 season, in two years time, the historic partnership will end. David Ornstein of the Athletic reports that Nike were given every opportunity to prolong the deal, but that no agreement was reached in the end. Instead, the Premier League will use Puma balls starting from the 25-26 season, after the two parties agreed a lucrative deal.

Many fans will fondly remember some of the Nike match balls used over the last 23 years, and strongly associate various editions with specific clubs, players and moments from Premier League history. They have been part of the fabric of the Premier League, an ever-present for many that accompanied the league on its rise to becoming the richest and most watched in the world. Recent editions may not have been as memorable as the balls from the 2000s - not helped by the new two balls-per-season cycle - but the switch to Puma will stil mark the end of an era.

Puma signed ball supplier agreements with Serie A and La Liga in the last few years, and adding the Premier League to their list of partners is quite the feather in their cap. All three leagues had previously been partnered with Nike. Puma's increased focus on - and investment in - football, through the signing of higher profile clubs and players, as well as these match ball partnerships, is not going unnoticed.

For fans who grew up watching football in the 2000s, Nike and Adidas were by far the dominant forces, and remained the preferred brands of those kids into adulthood. Puma will be hoping that their aggressive strategy will see them gain a similar standing among the youth of today, and one day surpass the two sportswear giants.