44-463: Molten Corporation ( 株式会社モルテン , Kabushiki-gaisha Moruten ) is a sports equipment and automotive parts company based in Hiroshima , Japan . Molten is mostly known for manufacturing balls for several team sports , with a range of products that includes American footballs , association footballs , basketballs , dodgeballs , handballs and volleyballs . Notably, Molten basketballs are
88-399: A puck is used. In many games, goal posts are at each end of the playing field. In some games, such as association football , hockey and water polo , the object is to pass the ball or puck between the posts below the crossbar. In basketball, the object is to pass the ball through the basket . In these sports, the goal usually has a net . In other sports, such as those based on rugby ,
132-487: A biomechanical system that is interacting with the athlete. Since the massive adoption of wearable, new sport equipment tend to be electronics and connected to deliver data performances. Standards and monitoring processes apply in certain industries aimed at the elimination of child labour in the manufacturing of sports goods. One example would be the Atlanta Agreement of 1997 in relation to child labour in
176-611: A feat that is no longer possible for any team that did not win the Cup Winners' Cup. There are currently eight teams throughout Europe that have won two of the three trophies; all but one have won the Cup Winners' Cup, four require a win in the Champions League and four require a UEFA Europa League win. Until the first staging of the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022, Juventus of Italy was
220-470: A particular sport. It includes balls, nets , rackets , protective gears like helmets , goggles , etc. Since the performer must use a sport equipment, it can also be serve for protection. Historically, many sports players have developed their own sporting equipment over time. For instance, the use of a football dates back to ancient China , between the Warring States period (476–221 BC) and
264-614: Is composed of; President Vice-presidents Members General secretary Deputy general secretary Treasurer Head of club competitions and calendar Head of national competitions National teams: Clubs: Amateur: Defunct National teams: Clubs: Amateur: UEFA runs official international competitions in Europe and some countries of Northern , Southwestern and Central Asia for national teams and professional clubs, known as UEFA competitions , some of which are regarded as
308-674: Is the UEFA Europa League . This competition, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor of both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (also began in 1955). A third competition, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup , which started in 1960, was absorbed into the UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League) in 1999. In December 2018, UEFA announced
352-482: Is the UEFA Futsal Championship and UEFA Under-19 Futsal Championship . Despite the existence of UEFA's Futsal and Beach soccer committee, UEFA does not organise any beach soccer competitions. International and club beach soccer competitions for UEFA members are organised externally by Beach Soccer Worldwide . The Italian , German , Spanish , French and Russian men's national teams are
396-528: Is the name of the official match balls of the tournament during the three-year contract. These footballs derive from the Molten Vantaggio 5000 -- a high quality FIFA and NFHS Approved match ball -- albeit with custom design resembling Europa League's branding. On 4 February 2021, Molten and the UEFA has reached an agreement to extend the three-year contract to become the official match ball suppliers for
440-802: Is the second tournament of UEFA and was introduced in 2018. The tournament largely replaced the international friendly matches previously played on the FIFA International Match Calendar. It will be played every two years. UEFA also runs national competitions at Under-21 , Under-19 and Under-17 levels. For women's national teams, UEFA operates the UEFA Women's Championship for senior national sides as well as Women's Under-19 and Women's Under-17 Championships. Intercontinental national teams: Defunct Intercontinental clubs: Defunct Beside continental European competitions for national and their junior teams,
484-564: The 2006 FIFA World Cup . Since 2012, Molten have been supplying Alashkert , a soccer club from the Armenian Premier League . Starting from 2019, Molten will supply official match ball for all Asian Football Confederation (AFC) club and national team tournaments, including the 2019 AFC Asian Cup . The Molten Acentec was specifically designed for the Asian Cup, based on Vantaggio 5000. The partnership didn't continue in
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#1732787846637528-614: The 2023 AFC Asian Cup as the AFC has appointed Kelme to supply the match ball for the tournament. However Molten still supply the match balls in other AFC-sanctioned national team tournaments. Molten's initial involvement in AFC's club competitions excluded the AFC Champions League , as Molten provides Adidas match balls (Molten are the official manufacturer and distributor of Adidas footballs in Japan). However, since 2021 season
572-633: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) were also admitted to the European football association, such as Israel (because it had been banned from the AFC group in 1974) and Kazakhstan. Involving clubs, some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their association's main territory to take part in their "domestic" competition, for example, AS Monaco in the French League, Welsh clubs Cardiff City or Swansea City in
616-577: The Court of Arbitration for Sport , which upheld the ban. On 26 September 2023 the ban was lifted for the Russia U-17 team enabling them to complete in the 2024 Euro U-17 with UEFA saying "by banning children from our competitions, we not only fail to recognise and uphold a fundamental right for their holistic development but we directly discriminate against them". The lifting of the ban also applied to all teams, men and women, of underage players. This
660-495: The Han Dynasty (220 AD). As football remains the most popular sport in the 21st century, the material of the ball has completely changed over the centuries; from being made out of animal skin, to being lined with multiple layers of polyester or cotton. As the sporting equipment industry improves, so do the athletes' performance. This is due to the fact that the equipment is more efficient, lighter and stronger, thus forming
704-599: The Paralympics ) may use extremity prostheses , such as the Flex-Foot Cheetah running blade. Protective equipment is often worn for sports including motor sport and contact sports , where there is a danger of injury through collision of players or other objects. In many sports, athletes wear helmets. These include: Padding is used to protect various body parts, most often as elbow pads , shin pads , and shoulder pads . Specialized equipment, such as
748-801: The U.S. marketplace. Originally located in Southern California , Molten USA moved to northern Nevada in 1988 and continues to call the Reno – Sparks area its home. Only six years after their founding, Molten basketballs, volleyballs, and soccer balls were the official balls of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics . Molten has been the official basketball for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles (1984), Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000), Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016). Molten basketballs have also been
792-531: The UEFA European Championship , UEFA Nations League , UEFA Champions League , UEFA Europa League , UEFA Conference League , and UEFA Super Cup , and also controls the prize money, regulations, as well as media rights to those competitions. Henri Delaunay acted as the first general secretary and Ebbe Schwartz as the first president . The current president is Aleksander Čeferin , a former Football Association of Slovenia president, who
836-580: The UEFA Women's Champions League for club teams. The competition was first held in 2001, and was known as the UEFA Women's Cup until 2009. The UEFA Super Cup pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League (previously the winners of the Cup Winners' Cup), and came into being in 1973. The UEFA Intertoto Cup was a summer competition, previously operated by several Central European football associations, which
880-625: The jockstrap and mouthguard , is used to protect certain body parts. Ice hockey players may wear neck guards . Some athletes wear sports gloves to protect their hands. Many sports have a common set of clothing, usually called a uniform or kit, including the association football kit , baseball uniform , basketball uniform , cricket whites , and cycling kit . As part of the uniform, athletes may wear jerseys ; they may also be called shirts, sweaters in ice hockey or guernseys in Australian rules football. These jerseys may change color when
924-598: The transcontinental countries of Turkey , Azerbaijan , Georgia and Kazakhstan , as well as the West Asian countries of Cyprus , Armenia and Israel . UEFA consists of 55 national association members . Since 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine , FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions. UEFA consists of the national football associations of Europe, and runs national and club competitions including
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#1732787846637968-489: The AFC Champions League are also using Molten-branded match balls after Molten extended a three-year deal with the confederation until 2024. On 23 October 2017, UEFA has announced that Molten Corporation had signed a three-year agreement to become the official match ball supplier for the UEFA Europa League -- replacing Adidas -- through seasons 2018–19 , 2019–20 and 2020–21 . "Molten UEFA Europa League"
1012-677: The English League, or Derry City , situated in Northern Ireland, plays in the Republic of Ireland-based League of Ireland . On 28 February 2022, due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and in accordance with a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the UEFA suspended the participation of Russia. The Russian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the UEFA ban to
1056-478: The U.S. use Molten volleyballs. Through the 2006-07 season , Molten supplied balls for the elite Europe -wide Euroleague , but the league's organizing body, Euroleague Basketball (company) , switched to Nike as its basketball supplier. In their first involvement in association football , the company offered its technology to the Teamgeist project and supplied the official football as OEM to Adidas for
1100-499: The UEFA Europa League and newly created UEFA Europa Conference League . Molten's partnership in those tournaments will end at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season as Decathlon 's Kipsta will take over in the subsequent seasons. On 20 February 2024 Molten and CONCACAF has agreed to multi-year confederation-wide Match Ball supplier partnership, replacing Nike . In the past decade, Molten has increased its prominence in
1144-548: The UEFA organizes various qualification male and female tournaments among European national and their junior teams for World Cups (organized by FIFA) and Olympics (organized by IOC). UEFA also organised the UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup with CAF for youth teams in an effort to boost youth football. UEFA launched the UEFA Regions' Cup , for semi-professional teams representing their local region, in 1999. In futsal there
1188-1237: The ball must pass over the crossbar. In tennis , badminton , and volleyball , players launch the projectile over a net which is supported by two posts. Racquets are used for racquet sports such as tennis , squash and badminton , and are used to hit a ball between opposing players or teams. Fishing rods and fishing tackle are primarily used for fishing and sport fishing . Sticks are used for sports such as hockey and lacrosse . Bats are used for sports such as baseball , cricket , and rounders . Clubs are used mainly for golf . Wickets , creases and balls are used in cricket , and bases are used in baseball. In many sports, athletes wear cleats . These include cricket spikes, football boots , golf shoes , and track spikes . Cyclists wear cycling shoes , which may be designed for special interaction with pedals . Wheeled shoes include roller skates and inline skates . Skiers wear ski boots , which attach to skis via bindings . Similarly, snowboarders have snowboard boots and bindings . Athletes wear ice skates in most ice-based sports, although there are exceptions such as broomball and curling . Athletes with limb differences (such as those in
1232-486: The context of these countries, government functions concerning sport tend to be carried at the territorial level coterminous with the UEFA member entity. UEFA have previously declined membership to those deemed as non-sovereign countries like Jersey . Some UEFA members are transcontinental states (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) and others are considered part of Europe both culturally and politically (Turkey, Cyprus and Armenia). Countries which had been members of
1276-526: The creation of a third club competition, later named the UEFA Europa Conference League . The competition features 32 teams in 8 groups of 4, with a knockout round between the second placed teams in Europa Conference League and the third placed teams in the Europa League, leading to a final 16 knockout stage featuring the eight group winners. The first edition of the competition was played in 2021–2022. In women's football UEFA also conducts
1320-534: The field, most commonly in American football . UEFA The Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA / j uː ˈ eɪ f ə / yoo- AY -fə ; French : Union des associations européennes de football ; German : Union der europäischen Fußballverbände ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football . It governs football , futsal and beach football in Europe and
1364-548: The football-making industry in Pakistan. There are well-developed international trade markets for sports equipment: for example, a steady increase in sports equipment trade within the European Union and between EU member states and the rest of the world was reported during the period from 2017 to 2020. In ball sports , balls are a key element—usually as part of the scoring mechanism. Sports balls are usually in
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1408-621: The most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe (48 out of 55 members are sovereign UN member states), although there are some exceptions. One UN member state (Monaco) and one UN General Assembly non-member observer state (Vatican City) are not members. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of a larger recognised sovereign state in the context of international law. These include England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales ( UK constituent countries ), Gibraltar ( UK overseas territory ), Faroe Islands ( Danish Realm ), and Kosovo ( state with limited recognition ), however, in
1452-720: The official ball for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) for the past 30 years culminating in the Men's and Women's World Basketball Championship . This championship was held in the U.S. for the first time in Indianapolis in August 2002. Molten volleyballs became the official ball for the U.S. national teams in 1997 and the boys' and girls' junior national teams in 2001. Presently clubs, regions, high schools, colleges and tournaments throughout
1496-456: The official balls for all FIBA worldwide competitions, and numerous domestic leagues outside of North America. Molten is also the official volleyballs producer for USA Volleyball and the NCAA men's and women's championships. Founded in 1958, Molten is the world's largest ball and sports equipment manufacturer. Molten USA, Inc. was established in 1983 to bring these quality sports balls to
1540-524: The only team in Europe to win all UEFA's official championships and cups and, in commemoration of achieving that feat, have received The UEFA Plaque by the Union of European Football Associations on 12 July 1988. UEFA's premier futsal competition is the UEFA Futsal Cup , a tournament started in 2001 which replaced the former Futsal European Clubs Championship . This event, despite enjoying
1584-721: The only teams to have won the European football championship in all categories. The top-ranked UEFA competition is the UEFA Champions League , which started in 1955 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup (or simply the European Cup) and initially only gathered the top team of each country; this competition has since been expanded to gather the top 1–4 teams of each country's league (the number of teams depend on that country's ranking and can be upgraded or downgraded). A second, lower-ranked competition
1628-486: The shape of a sphere , though they may also be spheroid or ellipsoid . Spherical balls include the baseball , basketball , Gaelic ball , cricket ball , golf ball , lacrosse ball , tennis ball , and the ball used in association football . Spheroid and ellipsoid balls include the gridiron football and rugby ball . In flying disc sports , frisbees are used for various games such as freestyle , disc golf and ultimate . In ice hockey and floor hockey ,
1672-674: The team is on the road . Examples of training equipment include swiss balls , resistance bands , tennis balls, balance discs, cones, weights , chin-up bars , weight machines, and gym equipment. Also, protective equipment such as weight lifting belts and bench shirts are used for weight training and powerlifting . Special sports equipment, is the equipment usually worn by the athletes according to their needs or desires. Vehicles (sometimes specialized) are used as equipment for some sports, including motor sport , cycling, aeronautics , sailing and hot air ballooning . Small vehicles with flatbeds are often used to carry injured athletes off
1716-586: The total of founding associations to 31. UEFA grew to more than 50 members by the mid-1990s, as new associations were born out of the fragmentation of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia into their constituent states. UEFA's main headquarters after its foundation were located in Paris, but moved to Bern in 1960. Finally, they moved to Nyon , Switzerland, in 1995, opening the organisation's current headquarters in 1999. UEFA membership coincides for
1760-474: The world of football, becoming the official supplier of match balls for various leagues and domestic competitions, as well as a technical supplier for various clubs all over the world. Molten was the provider of uniforms to Malaysia's national basketball team at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification . Sports equipment Sports equipment , also called sporting goods , are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in
1804-636: The world's most prestigious tournaments. UEFA is the organiser of two of the most prestigious competitions in international football: The UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League . The main competition for men's national teams is the UEFA European Championship (also known as the Euro), which started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960 , and was known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. The UEFA Nations League
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1848-700: Was elected as UEFA's seventh president at the 12th Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Athens in September 2016, and automatically became a vice-president of the world body FIFA. UEFA was officially inaugurated on 15 June 1954 in Basel , Switzerland after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations. At the founding meeting, 25 members were present. However, six other associations which were not present were still recognised as founding members, bringing
1892-530: Was rejected by the FA of Ukraine, England, and Sweden, with all three threatening to boycott matches against Russia. Five of the UEFA national teams, Germany , Italy , France , England and Spain , have won 12 out of 22 FIFA World Cups for Europe. These five nations also make up the so-called « Europe's Big Five », consisting of Spain's La Liga , England's Premier League , Germany's Bundesliga , Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1 . UEFA executive committee
1936-664: Was relaunched and recognised as official UEFA club competition by UEFA in 1995. The last Intertoto Cup took place in 2008. The European/South American Cup was jointly organised with CONMEBOL between the Champions League and the Copa Libertadores winners. Only five teams ( Juventus , Ajax , Manchester United , Bayern Munich and Chelsea ) have won each of the three main competitions (European Cup/UEFA Champions League, European Cup Winners' Cup/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League),
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