Select Sport

Select Sport A.S. is a Danish sports-equipment manufacturer headquartered in Glostrup. The company was founded in 1947 by Eigil Nielsen, a former goalkeeper for the Denmark national football team. Its core business is the design, manufacture, and commercial distribution of balls and related sporting equipment, with football and handball forming the most prominent parts of its public profile. Select Sport's identity is closely associated with technical development in football construction. In 1962, the company manufactured and marketed what is described as the first 32-panel football. The design used 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons and was influenced by the geometric principles associated with geodesic domes. The 32-panel configuration subsequently became a widely used football standard for several decades. Select also pioneered footballs made without external lacing, an important construction change intended to produce a more consistent playing surface. The company supplies equipment at several levels of organized sport. In football, Select has supplied the Danish Football Association and has been used by clubs in the Danish, Belgian, and Portuguese top divisions. Its U.S. subsidiary, Select Sport America, has held supply agreements for soccer balls with the United Soccer League, the National Premier Soccer League, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, several NCAA Division II and Division III conferences, and high-school federations in Kentucky and Wisconsin. These arrangements place the brand across professional, collegiate, amateur, and youth football contexts. Select also has a substantial handball presence. Its balls have been used in Olympic handball and in world championship competition, as well as in men's handball leagues in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, and other countries. The brand has supplied or supported national and club teams in several European markets and beyond. A notable football development in the company's modern history was its association with Derbystar, under which Select's ball technology and brand family became connected with the official match ball for Germany's Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 beginning with the 2018–19 season. The brand's positioning is therefore based less on lifestyle fashion than on specialist sports performance, match use, technical construction, and institutional adoption. Its visibility is generated through official-ball contracts, federation relationships, league use, club supply, and sponsorships rather than through a single consumer product. Publicly available reference material identifies football and handball as its principal sports, while also stating that Select manufactures and markets products for several sports. Detailed current ownership, leadership, revenue, and product-catalog information is not established in the supplied sources.

Select Sport was established in Denmark in 1947 by Eigil Nielsen, who had previously played as a goalkeeper for the Denmark national football team. From its beginning, the company operated in sports equipment, with footballs becoming a defining part of its identity. Nielsen's playing background gave the enterprise a direct connection to the practical requirements of competitive football and helped shape its emphasis on ball design and performance. A major technical milestone came in 1962, when Select manufactured and marketed a 32-panel football. The ball used 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons, a geometric arrangement loosely related to the geodesic-dome concepts associated with R. Buckminster Fuller. The design was significant because the 32-panel structure subsequently became a world standard for footballs for several decades. Select is also credited with being the first manufacturer to produce footballs without exterior lacing, removing a traditional construction feature from the outer surface. Over time, Select expanded its institutional role beyond the sale of individual training balls. The company supplied footballs to the Danish Football Association and became used by clubs in the Danish, Belgian, and Portuguese top football leagues. Its market reach later included the United States through Select Sport America, which held contracts to supply soccer balls to the United Soccer League, the National Premier Soccer League, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, selected NCAA Division II and Division III conferences, and state high-school federations in Kentucky and Wisconsin. Handball became another important area of activity. Select balls have been used in Olympic handball, world championship competition, and men's leagues in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, and other countries. The reference material also identifies Select relationships with national teams and clubs in Europe and other regions, including Austria, Chile, the Faroe Islands, Portugal, and a number of French and Danish clubs. Some national-team and association relationships, including those involving Greenland and New Caledonia, are identified as former rather than current sponsorships. A further modern milestone came through the company's relationship with Derbystar. From the 2018–19 season, Derbystar supplied the official match ball for Germany's Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, with the arrangement connected to Select's ball portfolio and manufacturing expertise. This gave the broader Select/Derbystar product family visibility in one of Europe's most prominent domestic football competitions. Select Sport is described as continuing to manufacture and commercialize equipment for several sports, although the supplied reference material provides the greatest detail for football and handball. Its business model combines product development with federation, league, club, school, and competition supply. Current ownership, financial performance, management succession, and a detailed chronology of all sponsorship agreements are not established by the available material.

• 2018

  Bundesliga match-ball association begins

  [1]Select Sporten.wikipedia.org

  From the 2018–19 season, Derbystar becomes associated with supplying the official match ball for Germany's Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.

• 2008

  Reported football and handball supply relationships

  [1]Select Sporten.wikipedia.org

  Select is reported as supplying the Danish Football Association, clubs in several European top leagues, and major handball competitions and leagues.

• 1962

  Introduction of the 32-panel football

  [1]Select Sporten.wikipedia.org

  Select manufactures and markets a football with 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons. The 32-panel configuration later becomes a widely used standard.

• 1947

  Select Sport is founded in Denmark

  [1]Select Sporten.wikipedia.org

  Former Denmark national-team goalkeeper Eigil Nielsen establishes Select Sport.

A specialist sports-equipment brand focused on technically developed football and handball balls, official competition supply, and broad institutional use.

• Football equipment · 1947

  Football and soccer balls

  Select's best-known product category is football and soccer balls for match, training, club, federation, school, and recreational use. The company's historical reputation is tied to construction innovation, including the 32-panel design introduced in 1962 and the removal of external lacing from football surfaces. Its balls have been supplied across professional and amateur competitions in Europe and the United States.

• Handball equipment

  Handball balls

  Select produces handballs used in organized competition and by training programs. Reference material connects the brand with Olympic handball, world championship competition, and men's leagues in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, and other markets. The category supports the company's position as a specialist ball manufacturer rather than a football-only supplier.

• Sports equipment

  Multi-sport equipment

  Select Sport is described as manufacturing and commercializing products for several sports. The supplied references do not provide a complete current catalog or enough detail to identify every product line, so this entry records the broader category without specifying unverified items.

• 2018

  Expansion of high-profile competition-ball visibility through DerbystarStrategy

  Background

  Select's ball portfolio sought visibility through official competition supply in addition to direct sales and team relationships.

  Action taken

  Beginning in the 2018–19 season, Derbystar was associated with the official match ball for Germany's Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement connected Select's broader ball business with a prominent European football competition.

  Source

• 1962

  Adoption of a 32-panel football constructionProduct launch

  Background

  Select pursued a more geometrically structured football design at a time when ball construction was becoming increasingly standardized.

  Action taken

  The company manufactured and marketed a ball made from 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons, and also produced footballs without external lacing.

  Aftermath

  The 32-panel configuration became a widely used football standard for several decades, strengthening Select's historical association with ball-design innovation.

  Source

1. 1Select Sporten.wikipedia.org