Yes, like in “Game of Thrones”, “Winter is coming” for the Premier League. But in this case it's not hordes of the walking dead, it's a new high-visibility ball so that players and fans can see it on the field in case it snows.
The first time a winter ball was introduced in England's top flight was in 2004-05, in what we can only assume was a particularly cold winter, and coincided with the official time zone change from British Summer Time (BST) to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) each late October.
Then, starting in 2008-09, the marketing gurus thought they should probably try to update the ball once a year. And here we are.
So, all that means is that this 2025-26 version is the 20th winter ball offering, as it marks PUMA's first season as official ball supplier to the Premier League.
Winter is coming. 🥶
Presenting the @pumafutbol Under The Lights edition of the Premier League ball!
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 23, 2025
The Puma Orbita Ultimate PL “Under the Lights” edition will debut on November 8 when Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester United, and as you can see, we've been promised “an eye-catching, high-visibility colorway… designed to shine brighter under the stadium floodlights, ensuring every pass, hit and goal is impossible to miss.” So it is useful for the VAR.
This season's Premier League has already seen 209 goals in 80 games played, 11 of them won with goals in injury time, the highest proportion in history.
We can only assume that having a shiny new ball will help goalkeepers reduce this a bit for the rest of the campaign.
