THE HISTORY OF SELECT SPORT
SELECT is one of the world's leading ball manufacturers with a long history of ball development. Today, SELECT sells more than 4 million balls per year and supplies top-tier balls to leagues in both soccer and handball. In addition to balls, SELECT produces both clothing and equipment for clubs, and we export to more than 50 different countries around the world.
The story of eigil nielsen
SELECT was founded in 1947 by Danish national soccer team goalkeeper Eigil Nielsen. He was the national team’s first-choice goalkeeper and played in 28 national matches from 1940 to 1951. He was the goalkeeper for the Danish team there that won the bronze medal at the 1948 London Olympics.
In Eigil Nielsen’s time, elite soccer players could not live solely on football, so he studied to become a sports psychologist while working in the footwear and leather industry. During this time he created the first SELECT soccer ball.
In 1951, Eigil Nielsen entered into an agreement with the Danish Football Association (DBU) to supply balls to the national soccer team’s matches. This was the beginning of a long collaboration between SELECT and the DBU, which still exists today. In the same year the agreement with the DBU was signed, SELECT launched a new soccer ball with a built-in valve and no external string. This meant that the ball could better maintain its round shape, and that there was no string to interfere with kicks and especially headers. These improvements to the soccer ball were epoch-making. At the time, all soccer balls were made. In 1962 SELECT introduced one of the greatest inventions in soccer history – the 32-panel ball, which ensured that balls were perfectly round.
Eigil Nielsen was again a leading manufacturer of soccer balls in the 1970s when SELECT introduced the 32-panel handball to the market. In 1974, SELECT stopped using cowhide and produced the first hand-sewn synthetic leather ball. Synthetic leather quickly became the preferred choice of players, and today almost all balls are made of synthetic leather, regardless of the manufacturer. SELECT sells over 4 million balls every year and also produces a large range of sportswear and sports accessories, which are sold in more than 50 countries around the world.
SELECT is also an official ball supplier to many of the best soccer leagues in Europe, including the German Bundesliga, making SELECT the largest league partner. SELECT soccer balls, handballs and futsal balls still consist of 32 panels today, ensuring optimal roundness. A ball with optimal roundness is fundamental to achieving reliable aerodynamics, resulting in a straight flight and a controlled bounce.
Eigil Nielsen
Founder of SELECT SPORT and inventor of the modern football
Ball factory
Anwar Khawaja Industries(AKI)
SELECT STANDS FOR QUALITY
For Eigil Nielsen, it was the perfect round ball with a straight flight and a controlled bounce that was the driving force. The perfect ball - and he created it. Since then, SELECT has preserved and cherished the quality.
For around 75 years, SELECT has used only the best leather and (later) the best synthetic materials for its hand-sewn balls. To ensure that all SELECT balls meet our quality standards, they are thoroughly inspected at our factory in Pakistan, and we perform another quality check in Denmark on our top balls. We check the stitching, surface, sphericity, circumference, weight, air tightness and printing colors before we send our balls out into the world. We even inflate the bladders we produce to ensure perfect balance. Our quality standards are the highest in the industry, even higher than FIFA's when it comes to the best match balls for soccer ball.