LONDON — In a landmark shift that marks the end of an era, the Premier League has announced that Puma will become the league’s official match ball supplier starting from the 2025-26 season, ending a 25-year-long partnership with Nike.
The transition comes after protracted negotiations that saw the American giant unable to secure terms favorable enough to extend its storied relationship with the Premier League. “We are delighted to be welcoming Puma as the official ball supplier of the Premier League,” said Premier League CEO Richard Masters. The statement underlines the confidence the league has in Puma’s longstanding history in football and its ability to innovate on the pitch.
Puma’s deep roots in English football are well documented. The German sportswear powerhouse, which has sponsored eight-time Premier League champions Manchester City since 2019, is already a familiar name to fans across the country. Its influence extends to high-profile players such as Kai Havertz, Jordan Pickford, James Maddison, Marc Cucurella, and Harry Maguire, who have all sported the Puma badge on their kits.
This move is part of Puma’s broader strategy to elevate its brand within global football. The company has a proven track record, having supplied the Serie A with its match ball since the 2022-23 season and serving as the official ball provider for La Liga since 2019-20. Additionally, Puma has been the designated ball supplier for the English Football League since the 2021-22 season—a testament to its growing influence in European football.
Nike’s tenure as the Premier League’s match ball supplier began in the 2000-01 season, during which the brand introduced at least two designs per season from 2004-05. The 2023-24 season was notable for Nike’s scaled-back design rollout, as it did not unveil a third ball design—a possible harbinger of the approaching change.
Off the pitch, Nike was instrumental in several community-focused initiatives within the Premier League, championing causes such as ‘No Room For Racism’ and ‘Rainbow Laces.’ However, with the shift in supplier, Puma CEO Arne Freundt sees an opportunity to fuse performance technology with fan engagement in a fresh way. “With Puma’s ball at the centre of attention during every match in this incredible league, we will create unforgettable moments for players and fans alike,” Freundt declared.
As the Premier League moves towards its new partnership, questions remain about how this change might influence the aesthetics and performance of the match ball—a central piece in the theatre of football. For now, the move signals a broader trend of re-evaluation and innovation in the sport, where legacy partnerships give way to new collaborations designed to reflect the evolving face of modern football.
