Nike have launched the match ball that the Bluebirds will use during the 2018/19 Premier League season: the Nike Merlin.
The Nike Merlin ball returns and is more innovative than ever, incorporating advanced technology, materials and construction to deliver the best Premier League ball yet.
Revolutionising the design for the 2018/19 season, Nike has integrated their All Conditions Control (ACC) technology in a football for the first time, ensuring optimal touch and control in all weather and pitch conditions.
Using higher frequency welding techniques, the number of panels traditionally seen have also been reduced further to just four, creating a larger striking surface for an even cleaner flight and enhancing accuracy.
Features
- Integrated All Conditions Control (ACC) into a football to provide optimal touch and control in all weather and pitch conditions
- Secondary and tertiary colours serve to catch a player’s eye and help them to identify spin, speed and trajectory as quickly as possible
Technology
- A larger striking surface has been created across the ball by reducing the traditional 12-panel construction to just four
- Less panels means the number of seams have been reduced by 40 percent, eliminating hard spots, opening up the ball and created a more pronounced sweet spot
- Debossed grooves and 3D inks engineered to dry at levels and locations that vary by millimetres, rise as they dry during the printing process further improve aerodynamics and the feel of the ball, helping it move through the air
- Constructed of a latex bladder instead of a traditional rubber enveloped in proprietary materials to promote more consistent air pressure and keep its shape
