 | |
Native name | 株式会社モルテン |
|---|---|
| Company type | PrivateKK |
| Industry | Sports equipment |
| Founded | 1 November 1958; 67 years ago (1958-11-01) |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Kiyo Tamiaki (President andCEO) |
| Products | List
|
Number of employees | 3,900 (consolidated, as of 31 March 2015) |
| Website | molten.co.jp |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
Molten Corporation (株式会社モルテン,Kabushiki-gaisha Moruten) is asports equipment andautomotive partscompany based inHiroshima,Japan.
Molten is mostly known for manufacturing balls for severalteam sports, with a range of products that includesAmerican footballs,association footballs,basketballs,dodgeballs,handballs andvolleyballs. Notably, Molten basketballs are the official balls for allFIBA worldwide competitions,[3] and numerous domestic leagues outside of North America.
Molten is also the official volleyballs producer forUSA Volleyball and theNCAAmen's andwomen's championships.[4]
Founded in 1958, Molten is the world's largest ball and sports equipment manufacturer. Molten USA, Inc. was established in 1983 to bring these quality sports balls to theU.S. marketplace. Originally located inSouthern California, Molten USA moved to northernNevada in 1988 and continues to call theReno–Sparks area its home.
Only six years after their founding, Molten basketballs and soccer balls were the official balls of the1964 Tokyo Olympics. Molten has been the official basketball for theOlympic Games in Los Angeles (1984), Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000), Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016). Molten basketballs have also been the official ball for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) for the past 30 years[when?] culminating in the Men's and Women'sWorld Basketball Championship. This championship was held in the U.S. for the first time inIndianapolis in August 2002.
Molten volleyballs became the official ball for the U.S. national teams in 1997 and the boys' and girls' junior national teams in 2001. Presently clubs, regions, high schools, colleges and tournaments throughout the U.S. use Molten volleyballs.
Through the2006-07 season, Molten supplied balls for the eliteEurope-wideEuroleague, but the league's organizing body,Euroleague Basketball (company), switched toNike as its basketball supplier.[5]
In their first involvement inassociation football, the company offered its technology to theTeamgeist project and supplied the official football asOEM toAdidas for the2006 FIFA World Cup.[6] Since 2012, Molten have been supplyingAlashkert, a soccer club from theArmenian Premier League.
Starting from 2019, Molten will supply official match ball for allAsian Football Confederation (AFC) club and national team tournaments, including the2019 AFC Asian Cup. TheMolten Acentec was specifically designed for the Asian Cup, based on Vantaggio 5000.[7] The partnership didn't continue in the2023 AFC Asian Cup as the AFC has appointedKelme to supply the match ball for the tournament. However Molten still supply the match balls in other AFC-sanctioned national team tournaments.[8]
Molten's initial involvement in AFC's club competitions excluded theAFC Champions League, as Molten provides Adidas match balls (Molten are the official manufacturer and distributor of Adidas footballs in Japan).[9] However, since 2021 season the AFC Champions League are also using Molten-branded match balls after Molten extended a three-year deal with the confederation until 2024.
Molten becameBangladesh Football Federation's official ball partner. The agreement was signed on 19 May 2025 inDhaka. Balls fromMolten will be used for
On 23 October 2017,UEFA has announced that Molten Corporation had signed a three-year agreement to become the official match ball supplier for theUEFA Europa League -- replacing Adidas -- through seasons2018–19,2019–20 and2020–21. "Molten UEFA Europa League" is the name of the official match balls of the tournament during the three-year contract. These footballs derive from the Molten Vantaggio 5000 -- a high quality FIFA and NFHS Approved match ball -- albeit with custom design resembling Europa League's branding.[10]
On 4 February 2021, Molten and the UEFA has reached an agreement to extend the three-year contract to become the official match ball suppliers for the UEFA Europa League and newly createdUEFA Europa Conference League.[11] Molten's partnership in those tournaments will end at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season asDecathlon's Kipsta will take over in the subsequent seasons.[12]
On 20 February 2024 Molten andCONCACAF has agreed to multi-year confederation-wide Match Ball supplier partnership, replacingNike.[13]
In the past decade, Molten has increased its prominence in the world of football, becoming the official supplier of match balls for various leagues and domestic competitions, as well as a technical supplier for various clubs all over the world.
Liga de Primera (Official match balls)
Primera División de El Salvador (Official match balls)
Liga Guate (Official match balls)Molten was the provider of uniforms toMalaysia's national basketball team at the2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification.[14]
