Zidane reveals Beau Jeu as official match ball
Thursday, November 12, 2015
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Blue, white and red in honour of France's Tricolour, Beau Jeu, translated as "the beautiful game", has been launched as the official match ball of the UEFA EURO 2016 group stage.
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Former France playmaker Zinédine Zidane took to his official Instagram page to reveal Beau Jeu, the official match ball of the UEFA EURO 2016 group stage. For the first time ever, there will be a separate ball for the knockout rounds.
Beau Jeu, which translates as Beautiful Game, incorporates the blue, white and red of host nation France's tricolour flag. It also integrates silver highlights in reference to the UEFA European Championship trophy, with the letters E-U-R-O and the figures 2-0-1-6 visible through the block design.
Developed by adidas for over 18 months, Beau Jeu includes the best elements of the Brazuca FIFA World Cup match ball from summer 2014, as well as improvements made to the grip and in-flight visibility. Beau Jeu will be officially handed over to all competing federations by the end of November in order to give their players a six-month window to train and play with the ball ahead of the finals beginning on 10 June.
High-profile players throughout Europe helped put the ball through its paces. Wales forward Gareth Bale said: "I tested Beau Jeu in training with long shots, passes and running at pace. It performed brilliantly. I can't wait for the tournament to start."
Later on Thursday, Zidane, Xavi Hernández and Per Mertesacker took centre stage with Beau Jeu inside the world's first digital football stadium, entitled FUTURE ARENA, in Saint-Denis, Paris.
FUTURE ARENA is a five-a-side football pitch with a projected digital football stadium designed to enable players to experience the feeling of being in front of 50,000 fans. FUTURE ARENA will be open until Sunday 15 November and will give youngsters the chance to try out Beau Jeu for themselves.
"I liked the idea of making young footballers feel the emotions I experienced playing in front of huge crowds during my career," said Zidane. "It's a unique experience to play in the EURO finals – the pressure before the match, the adrenaline in the tunnel, the sound of the crowd pushing you to play your best on the pitch. The FUTURE ARENA offers all these emotions."
