Danish brand Hummel recently announced that they were releasing two new football designs, with the intention of the brand making an impact in the teamsport arena. And if you’re anything like me, the first thing you’ll be thinking is “you mean hummel don’t already make footballs?!?” Well the simple answer is no, certainly not like this.
Hummel are a staple in the game, with their roots deeply entwined in the clothing and apparel market. Over the last 5 to ten years they’ve been consistently releasing some of the best kits out there; beautifully intricate designs that honour tradition, tell stories and advance jersey culture. And outwardly they seemed to be collectively content being great at what they did. But now they’re making moves into a new lane, with the announcement that they've released new FIFA-certified football designs. In an arena dominated by the likes of Nike, adidas and PUMA, the obvious question for me was why?
“The balls are the beginning – a symbol of intent,” explained Morten Lund, Director of Global Marketing at hummel when I enquired to find out more. “More importantly they represent momentum in a broader football movement for hummel. The bigger story is reclaiming a missing part of our football DNA. It’s about reconnecting performance with emotion. About making football less corporate and more cultural again.”
But hummel didn’t just come to the market with one ball. No, that would be too straightforward. Too easy. And hummel don’t do easy. They create with purpose. So they introduced Legacy and Inspire: two models built around two distinct mindsets of the game. “I get why it might seem odd from the outside, and we had many internal conversations about it. But football isn’t one‑dimensional, so why should our approach be?” Lund said. “Different markets have different needs, cultures and preferences, especially when it comes to footballs. We have strong product and consumer insights that reflect this. Instead of forcing one universal story, we embraced two clear identities. Legacy and Inspire allow us to connect with different football mindsets while staying under one authentic hummel umbrella.”
It’s not just the construction of the balls that separates them though – it’s the very approach behind their designs. “Each ball grew from a distinct emotional mindset,” said Christian Anker Røgen, Product Designer. “Some players value consistency and precision; others are driven by creativity and speed. Legacy and Inspire were built to reflect those two ways of playing.”
Legacy stands for consistency, precision, and tradition. A football for players who read the game, shape it, and dominate it. Featuring optimal aerodynamics, excellent shape retention, and long-lasting material quality.
Inspire, meanwhile, stands for energy, creativity, and courage. It’s for players who chase the moment, change the rhythm, and decide the game. Responsive, resilient, and offering maximum ball feel.
That’s the front-facing spiel, anyway. But the truth is that it’s more geographic than that.
Indeed, in Scandinavia and the US, for example, 32-panel balls (Inspire) are widely used, whereas in the rest of Europe a lower number of panels is favoured, typically eight, 12 (Legacy) or 16. It’s an interesting and often overlooked idiosyncrasy, but one that hummel have tackled head on, as Røgen addressed. “It was definitely a challenge because every region has its own idea of how a football should feel. That’s one of the key reasons we ultimately developed two distinct constructions.
“Panel construction changes everything – technology choices, graphics, aerodynamics. Inspire uses the traditional 32-panel construction everyone recognises as a “real football." But that structure limits certain new technologies. Legacy uses 16 identical panels, developed for a faster flight and a larger, cleaner strike zone on each panel.”
Beyond the technology, there’s a purposefully raw, real and unfiltered feel to the presentations of both the Legacy and Inspire models. “Football is the world’s biggest sport, and so much of it revolves around the professional game,” Røgen said when I pointed it out. “But we want to celebrate the real game – the amateurs, the academy kids, the Sunday-league players. At hummel we believe sport can change the world, and that change starts in the everyday game. It’s not perfect. It’s muddy, emotional, and unfiltered – and that spirit shaped everything in this collection.”
It’s a sentiment that Lund echoed when I mentioned it to him, too. “Football isn’t polished anymore – and it shouldn’t be. It needs to feel human. The market has become hyper‑produced and overly perfect. We saw an opportunity to move closer to the reality of the game. To reconnect with our history, but express it in a way today’s footballers – pro, amateur or spectator – can actually relate to. Mud on boots. Floodlights. Cold nights. That’s where football lives.”
And by getting Lukas Podolski onboard to front the launch campaign, that authenticity feels even deeper. This is guy who has a deep-rooted passion for the wider culture after all, so much so that he's stayed engrained in its very fabric long after he hung up his boots.
So perhaps don’t expect to see a hummel ball in the top leagues…yet. “When you walk into conversations – whether at grassroots level or with international federations – with a credible, performance‑tested match ball, you’re not pitching potential. You’re presenting readiness. It shows that in footballs, just as in every other football touchpoint, hummel is ready to operate at the highest level.” Lund and the whole hummel team have their mindset aligned in this regard it seems.
Ultimately, the release of these balls represents a shift in brand identity for hummel.“It’s a shift from celebrating heritage as history to activating heritage as attitude,” Lund said. “hummel has been part of football for more than 100 years, and now we’re expressing that in a bolder, louder – but still authentic – way.
“It’s less about nostalgia and more about emotional intensity. We do a lot of meaningful work as a brand, especially through our Karma projects, so we can step into football culture with confidence. Our roots aren’t archived – they’re alive. This is hummel fully owning its challenger energy.” If that’s not enough to convince you that hummel are serious about what they’re doing, nothing will be. So heritage and a connection with their footballing DNA, that’s why they're doing what they're doing, and I for one am all for it.
Shop the full Legacy and Inspire football ranges at hummel.net
