Select Sport
Select Sport A.S. is a Danish sports equipment manufacturer based in Glostrup, Denmark.
It was founded in 1947 by Eigil Nielsen,[1] the former goalkeeper of the Danish national football team.
In the late 1950s or early 1960s, Select manufactured and marketed the first 32-panel soccer ball.[2][3] Based loosely on the geodesic dome designs of R. Buckminster Fuller,[3] it consisted of 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons. The 32 panel configuration became the world standard for several decades. Select was also the first manufacturer of footballs without exterior lacing.[4]
As of 2008, Select provides the Danish Football Association with footballs, and also several clubs in the Danish, Belgian and Russian top football leagues use Select balls.
Select balls are used in the Olympic handball games, as well as in the World Championship and in the Danish, Swedish and Spanish men's handball leagues, among others.
The company's U.S. subsidiary, Select Sport America, has contracts to supply soccer balls for the NAIA, several NCAA Division II and Division III conferences, and state high school federations in Kentucky and Wisconsin.[5]
Sponsorships
Select Sport is the official supplier and sponsor of numerous association football teams, players and associations, including:
Football
Associations
Club teams
- Sarpsborg 08 (Since 2015)
- Tromsø (Since 2016)
- Brage (Since 2015)
Handball
National teams
Deaf Futsal
Club teams
References
- ↑ SELECT - The origin, Select.dk (Danish), retrieved 10 June 2012
- ↑ "SELECT Since 1947". SELECT. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
- 1 2 The history of the soccer ball, Soccerballworld.com (English), retrieved 29 May 2008
- ↑ About SELECT, Select-sport.com (Danish), retrieved 27 May 2008
- ↑ "Sponsor". Select Sport America. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
External links
- Official website (English) (Danish)
- Official USA website
- Unofficial website (Danish)