Legion FC and the rest of the USL Championship will be training and playing with a new match ball in 2021.
The USL Championship and its official match ball provider, Select, have announced its new ball for the 2021 Championship season.
The Select Super Brillant has been the official ball of the Championship since 2018 and has provided high-level performance for all Championship clubs since its debut. All league balls for the new season will have a new gold, black and turquoise design, and will be embossed with the Championship’s logo.
“The partnership between the USL and Select has gone from strength to strength over the past three seasons,” USL President Jake Edwards said in a press release. “The Select Super Brillant has provided outstanding consistency to our players on the field. We look forward to many more great performances by our players and teams as they compete for the chance to claim victory in the USL Championship Final this year.”
The ball itself features a bladder made of high-performance latex, a concept, according to the press release, that has been developed to ensure that both the ball and the bladder remain as round as possible. Select, which also serves as the official ball sponsor of the German Bundesliga, incorporates a built-in balance point at the opposite side of the valve hole, which Select claims helps ensure a perfectly balanced ball with a very springy bounce.
Additionally, the 32-panel design of the ball is lined with several layers of textile material, which according to the release, helps adjust the softness and ensure the ball retains its shape. The ball’s outer layer is made of synthetic leather in polyurethane, with the two surfaces of the cover combining to provide a strong material with consistent softness.
As of March 1, Legion FC began its training camp, utilizing the new USL ball in all drills and scrimmages.
Gunnar Sadowey is the sports editor for the Crimson. He is a senior from Elkhart, IN. Gunnar is currently a journalism and mass communications major with a print concentration and a German minor.
