To mark the German Bundesliga’s 60th anniversary in 2023-24, supplier Derbystar is going retro with their match balls for the upcoming season.
The balls were unveiled on Wednesday, May 31, just days after the close of the 2022-23 Bundesliga season. The new models are comprised of 32 pentagonal and hexagonal panels, a style reminiscent of classic ball designs seen in the 1970s and 1980s. In fact, special balls will be used in Matchdays 1 and 2 of the new season with black and white panels.
After the first two matchdays with the Classic model, the league will switch to Derbystar’s more colorful Brilliant APS model. It keeps the white hexagonal panels — though they all include light grey graphics, and some have small colored chevrons — while the pentagons appear in one of three gradients colorways: teal to navy blue, magenta to purple, or yellow to red.
Over the winter, Bundesliga teams will use the high-visibility version of the Brilliant APS ball. It has a bright orange base, with gradients in the pentagonal panels flowing from teal to navy blue.
All three balls have a version of the Bundesliga’s 60th anniversary logo on them, though the ’60’ on the Classic ball is in the same light grey as the graphics on the white hexagonal panels. All three balls also feature a high-tech polyurethane microfiber surface with a diamond texture. The balls are hand-sewn for “extra flexibility and durable seams” and have a “zero wing bladder made of natural latex for an optimal round shape and lively bounce.”
The 2023-24 Bundesliga season will kick off on August 18, 2023, and wrap up on May 18, 2024. A detailed schedule won’t be released until sometime after the relegation playoffs between VfB Stuttgart (16th in the 1. Bundesliga in 2022-23) and Hamburger SV (3rd in the 2. Bundesliga in 2022-23) wrap up on Monday, June 5.
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