adidas and UEFA Unite to Create Lasting Legacy for Grassroots Players at UEFA Women’s Champions League Final

  • 17-MAY-2022
  • Herzogenaurach
  • A unique Official Match Ball, the creation of a community pitch to provide a home for local change-makers, and a grassroots tournament in the heart of the city combine to deliver lasting impact fuelled by the energy of the UWCL final
  • The activation is the latest part of adidas’s biggest-ever commitment to support women athletes as a major year for sport unfolds

As official partner of UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL), adidas is setting the stage for new possibilities for grassroots football in the lead-up to the tournament’s final in Turin, Italy on May 21st.

Building on adidas and UEFA’s shared ambition to use this incredible moment of sport on a major international stage to both enable and inspire fans around the world, adidas’s UWCL legacy will be paved by several activities that aim to improve visibility and access to the game at all levels.

The first was the introduction of the Official Match Ball for the tournament’s knockout stage and final – the first time that an Official Match Ball has been created specifically for the UWCL. Its design is inspired by the mighty peaks of the Piedmont region, commemorating the alps which Turin sits at the foot of.

But with the understanding that the impact of this moment is about so much more than the action at the Juventus Stadium of Turin, adidas is harnessing the power of Europe’s biggest football tournament and bringing it to the streets of the city. For the second part of the activation, adidas unveils a new community pitch situated in the heart of the city that aims to improve access to sport by offering a home and place to play for the city’s grassroots community.

Ensuring the city touched by the magic of the UWCL is positively impacted through increased access to football at all levels, the adidas Football Collective (aFC) and Balón Mundial will be using the pitch to host a special mixed-team tournament on 18th May in the run up to the UWCL final, uniting the local football communities of Turin.

Tommaso Pozzato, Founder of Balon Mundial, said, “Our city has come alive around the major event of a UWCL final. It has offered the perfect opportunity to catalyse and engage younger generations and aspiring athletes from all levels. Grassroots football is not only where the stars of tomorrow are made - Grassroots clubs are support systems for their local communities. Installations like this will impact the lives of thousands of aspiring young local athletes in many more ways than one.”

The creation of the pitch is part of a new aFC x UCL/UWCL grassroots support program focussed on empowering grassroots football communities across Europe. The program has offered financial support to over 100 teams to help them thrive and continue creating positive impact in their local communities through football. aFC and UCL/UWCL will continue their support next year, more information here.

Importantly, this moment is the latest chapter of adidas’ mission to create lasting change with – and for - women in sport. Powered by its attitude of Impossible Is Nothing, it announced its biggest ever commitment to women earlier in 2022. This includes the expansion of its sponsorship of major leagues and tournaments, including the UEFA Women's Champions Leagueand UEFA Women'sEURO.

Gonzalo Calvo, Global Director Of Brand Communications, Communities and Culture at adidas said, “2022 marks our biggest-ever commitment to women in sport, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League final is one of the pinnacle moments of this year’s global sporting calendar. With the world starting to wake up to the power of these tournaments, we are energised more than ever to support those that are driving positive change in the sport – particularly at grassroots levels. Tournaments are brilliant moments of unity and impact, but tournaments are fleeting. It is the pursuit of lasting substantive change which drove this initiative and the aFC at large, and we are psyched to be able to show up in this way.”

For further information please visit adidas.com/football or follow @adidasfootball on Instagram or twitter to join the conversation.

About adidas in Football

adidas is the global leader in football. It is the official supplier of the most important football tournaments in the world, such as the FIFA World Cup™, the UEFA European Championship, the UEFA Champions League & Major League Soccer. adidas also sponsors some of the world’s top clubs including Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal, FC Bayern Munich & Juventus, as well as top Federations such as Germany (DFB), Spain (RFEF), Belgium (RBFA), Argentina (AFA) & (as of January 2023) Italy (FIGC). adidas is also partner to some of the best athletes in the game including Leo Messi, Vivianne Miedema, Paul Pogba, Mohamed Salah, Wendie Renard, Paulo Dybala, Trinity Rodman, Karim Benzema, Catarina Macario, Jude Bellingham, Jennifer Hermoso, Serge Gnabry, Pedri, Joao Felix & Lindsey Horan.

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