The starball has defined the Champions League for 25 years. With the new match balls for 2026/27, adidas' era is nearing its end.
Adidas has unveiled the official match balls for the league phase of the Champions League and the Women's Champions League 2026/27. Both have been available since August 26.
The men's ball is based on white and takes an unusual design approach: it's meant to evoke training sessions on cold, misty mornings. A metallic graphic runs like fog through the competition's familiar Champions League stars, creating bursts of colour. The adidas and competition logos appear in bold pink.
The Women's Champions League ball also uses a white base. At its centre is the ring of eleven stars, combined with purple, gold and orange, plus metallic silver details. The adidas and competition logos appear in black. Small graphic elements also reference the competition's anthem.
The End of adidas' Champions League Era: Why Nike Is Set to Take Over in 2027
These are the last adidas match balls designed for a Champions League league phase.
adidas has supplied the competition's official match ball since 2001. In early 2026, UEFA and the manufacturer marked the 25th anniversary of the partnership with a dedicated anniversary ball. The starball design has been a fixed part of the Champions League's visual identity ever since.
With the 2026/27 season, that era is nearing its end. UC3, the joint venture between UEFA and Europe's clubs, had entered exclusive negotiations with Nike in April 2026 over the match ball rights for the men's club competitions for the 2027-to-2031 cycle. Reuters and the Guardian have already reported that Nike will replace adidas from 2027/28.
According to reports so far, the future deal covers not just the Champions League but also the Europa League and Conference League. Those competitions currently use balls from Decathlon/Kipsta; from 2027, the ball rights for all three men's competitions would be bundled with a single manufacturer.
Before that happens, adidas is likely to present one last Champions League ball. In recent seasons, adidas has regularly presented a separate final ball for the knockout stage, used through the final. For 2027, no such model has officially been unveiled yet.
Footy Headlines, however, has already shown a leak. According to it, the last adidas final ball combines white star panels with deep burgundy and red tones and a baroque floral pattern in red and gold, inspired by Madrid's art history. It's expected to launch in February 2027, in use through the Champions League final on June 5, 2027, at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.
Will the Starball Survive in the Champions League?
What happens to arguably the Champions League ball's most famous detail after that remains open.
Earlier this year, the Guardian reported that adidas holds the rights to the current starball construction, meaning Nike would need to develop a new ball for its first Champions League season.
Since then, however, there have been signs pointing the other way. Footy Headlines, citing a French source, reports that Nike will very likely supply a starball for the Champions League from 2027 as well. Whether that means the existing star-shaped panels or simply the star motif carried over in a new construction remains unclear.
That means adidas' era could end in 2027 without the starball necessarily disappearing. What Nike's first Champions League ball will actually look like is not yet officially known.
