February 4 – UEFA has renewed Japanese manufacturer Molten Corporation as the official match ball supplier for its Europa League. Molten will also pick up rights to the new Europa Conference League that kicks off in July.
The three-year agreement will cover the rights cycle 2021 to 2024 and will see Molten balls used from the group stages in both competitions.
UEFA said Molten is the second brand to commit to the Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League for the 2021-24 cycle, following Heineken 0.0 who signed up in August 2020.
The introduction of the Europa Conference League from next season will bring changes to the Europa League that will see group stages reduced from 48 to 32 teams (eight groups of four). The eight group winners progress automatically to the round of 16.
The big expansion in European club competition games will be seen with 184 teams taking part in the Europa Conference League, including at least one from each of the 55 associations and 46 clubs transferring from either the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League.
There will be eight groups of four teams, followed by knockout round play-offs, the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
UEFA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein said: “We are excited that Molten will supply official match balls for the newly created UEFA Europa Conference League. Molten is a trusted match ball supplier of the highest quality and will be key to the success of the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League in the 2021-2024 seasons.”
Emphasising the value of partnering with significant international competitions and the opportunity of the new Europa Conference League, Kiyo Tamiaki, President & CEO of Molten Corporation said: “We are honored to have the opportunity to provide our highest quality footballs to these internationally renowned club competitions, thanks to the support of UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and everyone involved to make these partnerships possible.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1714258636labto1714258636ofdlr1714258636owedi1714258636sni@n1714258636osloh1714258636cin.l1714258636uap1714258636