Just Arrived: Nike Maxim Match Ball

We know that the football companies make bold claims when it comes to promoting their products, but we think that Nike’s claim that their Maxim footballs are “the world’s best ball” is certainly a big thing to say. Which is why we have had to get our hands on the football used in Europe’s top leagues (courtesy of Nike), the Nike Maxim match ball.

Nike haven’t made any dramatic changes to their top tier football for at least the past 4 years. The Ascente in the 09-10 season came with the Geo II construction of hexagonal shapes, golf ball like dimples on the surface and a premium three layer construction. Since then, we have seen the Tracer, Seitiro and now the Maxim incorporating the same physical structure (bar the upgraded five layer construction that has recently been introduced). The dimple effect makes the ball more aerodynamic, which can make it fly through the air faster while reducing water uptake. When implemented with the 360 degree sweet spot, it ensures that the ball will fly the way it is meant to.

It is the graphics of the ball, however, that has changed between the new Maxim and the old Nike match balls. The RaDaR (Rapid Decision and Response) visual technology is something Nike has pushed in the past few years. The RaDaR technology means that, when the ball flies through the air, it creates a flicker-like effect. In other words, the ball does not blend into one consistent colour. This is the point of the broken up patterns of white, green, navy and light blue. The colours are broken up so that it is easier to predict the speed of the ball and how it is spinning, the predictability of which will help the player make decisions quicker on the pitch.

The Nike Maxim is the official match ball in Europe’s major football leagues: the EPL, Serie A and La Liga. It’s also FIFA Approved (we are not sure what the code underneath stands for, but our code looks fairly significant!) While adidas may have it’s Tango used in the majority of the internationals played around the world, Nike’s product is used in arguably the 3 biggest domestic football leagues on the planet. While what Nike tells us does sound all well and good, we are not going to take their word for it. We will test the ball over the next few weeks to see how it really shapes up, and whether it can match (or beat) the adidas Tango 12 we reviewed a little while ago.

We will do a comparison post on the Nike Maxim and the Tango 12 after the review, which should be up in a few week’s time. Until then, did you get your hands on the new Nike Maxim?