Adidas and Covestro have revealed the official match ball of the European Football Championship 2016 to be held in France commencing on June 10th 2016.
adidas covestro
The “Beau Jeu” is the official match ball of the European Football Championship 2016 in France. It also marks an anniversary: For 30 years the sports goods manufacturer adidas and materials supplier Covestro are collaborating on the development of footballs. Picture source: adidas
The Championship will also mark the 30th anniversary of the partnership between the manufacturers developing balls and the accumulation of a wealth of know-how and experience along the way.
French for “beautiful game”, the Beau Jeu is said to incorporate the best elements of the Brazuca, the official match ball of the 2014 World Cup, but surpasses it in terms of grip and its properties in play.
The improved ball control, stable flight characteristics and water resistance all thanks to its durable outer shell which is decorated in the French national colours: blue, white and red.
Thomas Michaelis, Project Manager for Ball Development at Covestro, siaid: “The ball’s outer shell consists of a total of five layers based on polyurethane raw materials from our Impranil line. It starts with the outermost skin, a full underglass print that prevents abrasion of the printed layer.”
The underlying intermediate layer protects the ball against external influences and lends it unusually high elasticity. Beneath that is a polyurethane foam with millions of microspheres that ensure outstanding flight characteristics. A polyurethane adhesive bonds the top layers to a special polyester-cotton fabric that serves as a substrate.
The Beau Jeu had its premiere in the world’s first digital football stadium, the Adidas Future Arena in St. Denis, where computer-generated stands simulated 50,000 spectators and fans can look forward to seeing the ball in action at the Championships from June 10th to July 10th 2016.