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Remembering Every MLS Match Ball As League Announces 2026 Edition
Major League Soccer unveiled the match ball for the 2026 MLS season, the last of which in the current calendar before the league switches to align with European schedules from 2027 onwards.
Manufactured by adidas, the ball features a design that displays the GPS coordinates of all 30 MLS stadiums, with the wave design representing the handles on the Phillip F. Anschutz Trophy awarded to the MLS Cup champions. The sublimated designs also include the MLS logo alongside stars and maple leaves, representing the United States and Canada with a red, white and blue design, a nod to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 2026 ball is the 20th MLS match ball designed by adidas, which has provided the league with balls since 2006. At the same time, the company also manufactures kits for all 30 teams. Mitre, Kappa and Puma previously made MLS balls before the current adidas deal.
With the new ball unveiled, Sports Illustrated takes a blast through the past at the former MLS match balls.
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2026
The newest match ball brings a similar look to past eras for what is expected to be one of the league’s most popular seasons; MLS hopes to garner a viewership boost given the momentum surrounding the 2026 World Cup. Like past balls, it features nods to both the U.S. and Canada.
2025
- MLS Cup winners: Inter Miami
- Supporters’ Shield winners: Philadelphia Union
Honoring the league’s 30th season, the 2025 MLS match ball harkened back to the colors of the inaugural MLS ball and logo, while incorporating details from previous MLS balls manufactured by the German sportswear giants.
2024
- MLS Cup winners: LA Galaxy
- Supporters’ Shield winners: Inter Miami
The 2024 MLS match ball saw flashy, neon colors as a throwback to the bright lights of the 1994 FIFA World Cup on American soil, which sparked the creation of MLS in 1993. Through the years that followed, teams took on bright looks, denim kits and other fashion choices largely reserved for the 1980s and 1990s.
2023
- MLS Cup winners: FC Cincinnati
- Supporters' Shield winners: Columbus Crew
The 2023 MLS match ball was one of the more colorful pieces in recent history, inspired by music from the league’s 29 clubs, featuring several American and Canadian icons.
2022
- MLS Cup winners: LAFC
- Supporters’ Shield winners: LAFC
The 2022 match ball featured intricate designs, including a rose as the national flower of the United States and the bunchberry as the national flower of Canada. The detailed design paid tribute to the over 800 players in MLS, one of the world’s most diverse professional sports leagues.
2021
- MLS Cup winners: New York City FC
- Supporters’ Shield winners: New England Revolution
One of the few balls coined with its own name, the 2021 MLS match ball, the Nativo 2021 featured a timeless design with the league’s red, white and blue color scheme, as well as stars, stripes and several maple leaves to represent the 27 teams competing in that season.
2020
- MLS Cup winners: Columbus Crew
- Supporters’ Shield winners: Philadelphia Union
The 2020 MLS season didn’t go to plan given the COVID-19 pandemic. The match ball, despite the thrilling design, mostly saw use in front of empty stands at the 2020 MLS is Back tournament in Orlando, before teams returned to empty stadiums for the rest of the season.
2019
- MLS Cup winners: Seattle Sounders
- Supporters’ Shield winners: LAFC
One of the few MLS match balls that did not feature white as a primary color, the 2019 MLS Nativo Questra is one of several that took inspiration from the 1994 World Cup. It also includes the colors of the league’s two primary countries.
2018
- MLS Cup winners: Atlanta United
- Supporters’ Shield winners: Red Bull New York
The 2018 adidas Nativo match ball featured a similar design to what was to be seen at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. It was dubbed the Telstar, the latest edition of a famed line of World Cup balls. Atlanta United won MLS that year, while France won the World Cup.
2017
- MLS Cup winners: Toronto FC
- Supporters’ Shield winners: Toronto FC
Who needs minimalistic designs when you can just put the flags on the match ball? That’s what adidas and MLS did in 2017, with full color imagery of the Canadian and American flags sprawled across the ball.
2016
- MLS Cup winners: Seattle Sounders
- Supporters’ Shield winners: FC Dallas
One of several MLS balls from the adidas Nativo line, the 2016 MLS ball saw reverse colors for the American and Canadian flags dotted across the ball. The ball marked 10 years of adidas manufacturing MLS match balls.
2015
- MLS Cup winners: Portland Timbers
- Supporters’ Shield winners: Red Bull New York
Spanish soccer legend David Villa led the brand launch for the 2015 MLS match ball and the initial announcement likened its play to the 2014 World Cup match ball. Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller clashed in that tournament before meeting again in the 2025 MLS Cup final.
2014
- MLS Cup winners: LA Galaxy
- Supporters’ Shield winners: Seattle Sounders
The 2014 MLS match ball was the last before the Nativo line, featuring the adidas Prime 3 in a red-and-white look with swirling designs across the ball. Despite being named differently, it used the same Brazuca design as the 2014 World Cup ball. It was also the last ball with the original MLS logo.
2013
- MLS Cup winners: Sporting Kansas City
- Supporters’ Shield winners: Red Bull New York
The 2013 MLS match ball was the last to feature a full-color logo from the previous era of MLS, before the league announced a full rebrand for the 2015 season. Featuring a smooth, thermally-bonded construction, the ball was modeled after the 2012 Euro ball, the latest edition of the famed adidas Tango line.
2012
- MLS Cup winners: LA Galaxy
- Supporters’ Shield winners: San Jose Earthquakes
The 2012 MLS match ball was the MLS edition of the adidas Tango 12, as used at Euro 2012. The only differences between the two balls were the printed designs, which largely carried over to the 2013 MLS ball as well.
2010 and 2011
- 2010, 2011 MLS Cup winners: Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy
- 2010, 2011 Supporters’ Shield winners: LA Galaxy, LA Galaxy
The first season to feature more than one Canadian team, with the introduction of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, saw the 2011 MLS match ball continue to use the adidas Jabulani. It was also seen at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where it became known for its unpredictable flight patterns.
The same ball was used in 2010 and 2011.
2008 and 2009
- 2008, 2009 MLS Cup winners: Columbus Crew, Real Salt Lake
- 2008, 2009 Supporters’ Shield winners: Columbus Crew, Columbus Crew
The 2008 and 2009 MLS seasons featured the same match balls, with the Teamgeist 2 taking center stage after its initial design for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a model previously used by MLS as well.
2006 and 2007
- 2006, 2007 MLS Cup winners: Houston Dynamo, Houston Dynamo
- 2006, 2007 Supporters’ Shield winners: D.C. United, D.C. United
Using the TeamGeist model, the same ball used at the 2006 World Cup, the second decade of MLS got off to a strong start as D.C. United picked up two back-to-back Supporters’ Shields and the Houston Dynamo won back-to-back MLS Cup titles with the first balls made by adidas.
2005
- 2005 MLS Cup winners: LA Galaxy
- 2005 Supporters’ Shield winners: San Jose Earthquakes
The era before MLS and adidas’s partnerships on MLS match balls saw the American top-flight equipped by another German sportswear giant, as Puma made the balls from 2003 to 2005. The 2005 ball was also the last to use the traditional hexagonal panels.
2003 and 2004
- 2003, 2004 MLS Cup winners: San Jose Earthquakes, D.C. United
- 2003, 2004 Supporters’ Shield winners: Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew
The 2003 and 2004 match ball was the first of the Puma era of MLS balls and represented a rocky time in the space for MLS, being the third supplier in three seasons to lay claim to the top division in the U.S. These balls featured the hexagonal design, as well as the MLS All-Star Game logo in some special editions.
2001 and 2002
- 2001, 2002 MLS Cup winners: San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy
- 2001, 2002 Supporters’ Shield winners: Miami Fusion, LA Galaxy
Italian sportswear company, Kappa had a brief two-year spell as the official match ball supplier of MLS. Their balls saw a gradient design on some hexagonal panels and a prominent league logo in the center.
1996 to 2000
- 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 MLS Cup winners: D.C. United, D.C. United, Chicago Fire, D.C. United, Kansas City Wizards
- 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Supporters’ Shield winners: Tampa Bay Mutiny, D.C. United, LA Galaxy, D.C. United, Kansas City Wizards
The first five years of MLS saw balls manufactured by Mitre, an English company that continues to supply balls to some competitions around the globe in 2026. The first balls set the color tone for many that followed, while featuring a revolutionary non-hexagonal design.
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Ben Steiner is an American-Canadian journalist who brings in-depth experience, having covered the North American national teams, MLS, CPL, NWSL, NSL and Liga MX for prominent outlets, including MLSsoccer.com, CBC Sports, and OneSoccer.