What better way to begin building hype for the Cup of Nations than with the very essence of the game itself, the football. Adidas recently launched the new ball for this tournament and it is once again an inspired design. Heavily reminiscent of the Cup of Nations 2008 football the “wawa aba”, the ball uses a very similar colour code, inspired by an authentic African palette.

This one is named the “comoequa”, an amalgamation of the Como river and the Equator which are a tribute to the co-hosting countries of  Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Here is the beauty, in all its glory:

Makes you want to take those sandals off and put them down for goalposts…