1960-2020: Full UEFA EURO Ball History - Which Was The Best?
As Adidas revealed the Official Match Ball for next year's EURO, we take a look at how the tournament balls have evolved over the years.
UEFA EURO Official Match Ball History
The story starts in 1960, the year of the 1960 UEFA European Nations' Cup, the first European Football Championship. The first-ever EURO ball was not sponsored / made by Adidas but featured no visible brandings.
Since the EURO 1968 in Italy, Adidas has been the official ball maker of the European Football Championship. The brand did not release a bespoke ball for the tournament in the first years as supplier - the first-ever official EURO ball by Adidas created for the competition was the Adidas 1988 "Tango Europa".
Since the EURO 1996 in England, Adidas designed really bespoke footballs for the UEFA Euro - all footballs since then feature very remarkable looks.
Interestingly, the official EURO football in the 2000s all had a similar silver color scheme. That color scheme was ditched with the Adidas Tango 2012. The Adidas Tango 12 featured a modern interpretation of the classic Tango design including a coloured outline inspired by the flags of the two host nations – Poland and Ukraine.
Adidas released three special UEFA EURO final balls so far.
What's your favorite UEFA EURO football? Are you a fan of the new UEFA EURO 2020 football? Comment below.
