Adidas today begin the build up for the coming Africa Cup of Nations with the official match ball “Marhaba”. The tournament will this year be played in Equatorial Guinea and the ball gets its inspiration from the traditional tournament that kicked off for the first time in 1957.

Africa Cup of nations is played every second year and this January it will be 2 years since Nigeria lifted the trophy. This time round it will be the 30. Time the tournament is held and since Morocco pulled out of as the planned hosts, due to the Ebola epidemic, Equatorial Guinea struck.

You can pre-order the official Africa Cup of Nations match ball from adidas right here.

As tradition dictates it was adidas, who were responsible for the official match ball and they have drawn inspiration from the tournaments proud history and passionate fans. The ball is fittingly named Marhaba, which in Arabic means welcome.

The colours used on the ball represent the varied landscape across the African continent, from the golden sands of Sahara, to the azure blue skies above. All African countries will feel proud and have a sense of relation with the ball, when they chase the traditional African trophy.

The ball itself is built up around the same technologies as the Brazuca, which was the official World Cup ball. Adidas therefore continue with their six symmetrical panels, which are inspired by windmills and developed to give the ball the optimal trajectory and stability. It will be exciting to see what magic Yaya Toure, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Gervinho and all the other stars can produce with this new Marhaba ball.

You can pre-order the official Africa Cup of Nations match ball from adidas right here.

Adidas have just now unveiled the new official match ball for the African cup of nations, which has been given the name Marhaba. In Unisport we welcome the Marhaba with open arms. What do you think about the design?