BEAVERTON, Ore. (July 17, 2010) – Today NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) launched the Nike Total 90 Tracer Ball, designed to revolutionize the game with elite performance benefits including unrivalled consistency, accuracy, touch and visual science. Developed in tandem with the world’s premier footballers and teams, the ball was meticulously engineered down to every detail from the bladder’s tension, hand-sewn seams and surface texture. The result is a ball that delivers superior playing benefits for elite athletes everywhere.
The Total 90 Tracer ball will debut in August with the world’s leading football leagues including the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, and Spain’s La Liga. Engineered for a consistently premium touch and feel, players will benefit from making better and quicker decisions on the pitch, while timing a run or pass to maximum effect.
During an extensive two-year testing process Nike worked closely with the Barclays Premier League, Spain’s LFP, Brasil’s Campeonato Brasileiro, with national teams including Portugal and the United States, and confederation matches throughout South America and Asia. The Nike design team also spent 18 months testing the T90 Tracer Ball at the Nike Advanced Innovation Lab in Tigard, Oregon.
“The world’s best leagues, federations and players demand the most innovative product on the market, that’s why our brief was very simple: to create the world’s best football,” said Chris Bond, Nike General Manager of Soccer Equipment. “As the game gets even faster and more competitive around the world, we’ve designed the product to exceed the demands of today’s players from the amateur to elite levels.”
The result is the Total 90 Tracer, which delivers enhanced consistency, accuracy, touch and visual science. It is the most pinpoint accurate ball in the world, helping players hit their target with consistency. Testing shows that the Total 90 Tracer consistently hits a 3-foot in diameter bulls-eye while the leading competitor ball hits a bulls-eye approximately 6-feet in diameter, showing the T90 Tracer is twice as consistent as the competition.
“A great ball makes a real difference for a player, a team and potentially the outcome of a game,” said Alexandre Pato. “The T90 Tracer always feels the same no matter where I strike it. It’s responsive and easily controlled in every situation. I can shoot with confidence, knowing it’s going to go exactly where I want it to every time.”
A perfect sphere, the T90 Tracer ball’s micro-textured casing regulates airflow equally across its entire surface, making it less prone to wobble and giving it a more direct, arrow-like flight. Rigorously tested at the University of British Columbia wind tunnels, the ball has less drag in flight and produces more precise and truer shots every time. Testing at the Nike Advanced Innovation Lab found that the T90 Tracer is the most aerodynamically efficient ball in the marketplace, carrying 6.8 meters further than the major competitor ball, meaning players expend less energy kicking the ball greater distances
Consistent touch: Nike teams also focused on enhancing touch – often one of the most crucial elements for footballers. A unique five-layer casing and construction improves touch, giving players maximum control and greater command and presence on the pitch.
The Geo II configuration of the ball’s 32 panels evenly distributes pressure across the whole ball, offering more consistent movement and the same response wherever the ball is struck.
True control: The engineered rubber response layer provides greater control as the ball absorbs and stores the energy of a pass or shot on impact before releasing it when it is moved on again. The cross-linked nitrogen expanded foam ensures a consistent feel, while the polyester and cotton support fabric gives the ball greater stability. The bladder’s 6-wing carbon latex air chamber provides explosive acceleration both on the ground and in the air.
Innovative visual science: The Total 90 Tracer also features a brightly colored graphic scientifically proven to enhance players’ ability to see and respond to the ball. Up to 99% of a person’s eye sight is peripheral, so the Nike design team and visual scientists explored how the human eye locates and responds to the color and design of a football while in motion. Through this testing, the Nike design team designed the Total 90 Tracer’s high-contrast asymmetrical graphic to generate a strong visual signal, which catches peripheral vision and focuses central vision quicker than any other ball.
The Nike Total 90 is now available at retailers worldwide and at www.nikestore.com. For more information on the new ball, including photos and video, visit www.nikemedia.com.
About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned Nike subsidiaries include Cole Haan, which designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; and Umbro Ltd., a leading United Kingdom-based global football (soccer) brand. For more information, visit www.nikebiz.com.
