čtvrtek 23.09.2021

The LFA has been introducing the first official FORTUNA:LIGA ball in history, SELECT will deliver the balls for the 2022/23 season

The LFA has been introducing the first official FORTUNA:LIGA ball in history, SELECT will deliver the balls for the 2022/23 season

čtvrtek 23.09.2021
From the 2022/23 season, all matches of the highest Czech competition will be played with a single ball of the same brand. The league clubs approved a revolutionary decision in June this year. The League Football Association has now selected a specific brand for the coming seasons, the Select company. The unique visual of the official ball will be presented by the LFA before next season.

"Playing all league matches with a single ball was our goal, we discussed this project for a long time and I am glad that we turned it into reality and concluded a contract with the SELECT company, which will supply the official FORTUNA:LIGA balls for the coming seasons," said Chairman of the League Board Dušan Svoboda.

Select has already supplied official balls to many prestigious foreign leagues, including the highest competitions in Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway or Belgium. The German Bundesliga is also played with Derbystar balls from Select. "We will be among the other advanced competitions that play with a single ball. I consider this to be clearly the right step," added Dušan Svoboda.

"The Select brand has met all the parameters set by the League Football Association in choosing a single ball supplier. We placed great emphasis on references from different competitions, the quality of the ball or the reliability of the supplier. I am looking forward to introducing the historically first official FORTUNA:LIGA ball to all football fans in the Czech Republic before the upcoming season," said Daniel Hajný, the sales and marketing director of the League Football Association, about the meeting with potential candidates. "Sixteen clubs of the highest football competition will receive summer and winter versions of balls, which will carry a unique design."

As a ball specialist, SELECT produces more than 3.5 million balls every year and sells them to more than 50 countries around the world. The best materials are selected for the league models, which are subjected to thorough testing of game properties and resistance. The original 32-panel construction of the ball is the basis of the brand, invented by Eigil Nielsen, which always ensures a stable and straight flight path. "We are very happy that SELECT will be the first official ball in the history of the Czech football league and we look forward to working with the League Football Association. The Czech league will be the twelfth highest competition in Europe with our brand and we will certainly strengthen our position as the most widespread supplier of official league balls in Europe," said Jesper Ullits, Regional Export Manager of SELECT Sport.

"We are pleased to be able to capitalize on more than twenty years of experience in cooperation with the Danish brand SELECT on the Czech market and expand its portfolio with the highest domestic competition. We are looking forward to cooperating with the League Football Association and we believe that in the coming years we will provide first-class service to elite Czech clubs and supply quality balls with which many competitions play in Europe, " added Jiří Melichar Jr., director of mcompanies.cz which delivers SELECT products on the Czech market.