A special silver ball made by Major League Soccer's official equipment sponsor, adidas, will be used on Sunday at MLS Cup 2006 (3:30 p.m. ET; ABC) as the New England Revolution face Houston Dynamo at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, for the league championship.
The "+Teamgeist Winner MLS Ball" will then be used for the duration of the 2007 home season by the side that emerges victorious, serving as a symbolic reminder to visiting teams that they are facing the best in the league. The +Teamgeist Winner MLS Ball features the same technology and unique panel shape design as the +Teamgeist, official match ball of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Tha ball was unveiled prior to the Revolution's Eastern Conference Championship match against D.C. United at RFK Stadium.
"The new adidas silver MLS ball will add a unique aspect to our championship game," said Stu Crystal, MLS' VP of Consumer Products and Licensing. "This is something that other sports do not have. This is yet another example of how soccer in this country is setting the trend."
The idea is a variant of the special gold ball that adidas provided for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final last summer in Germany, but the concept of the champion continuing to use the special ball is new and one that is not done in any other league around the world.
MLS was the first league in the world to use the "+Teamgeist" balls when a signature MLS version was produced prior to the start of the 2006 season. Both the regular MLS match ball and the silver ball are available now on MLSgear.com. It will soon be available for purchase at Dick's Sporting Goods, Sports Authority and specialty soccer shops.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
