Honored Master of Sports
of Russia in Basketball
At the All-Star Game in St. Petersburg, the project of the first ecoball made of recycled plastic in collaboration between VTB United League, SIBUR and Wilson was presented. This is a real breakthrough in the use of recycled materials and a new stage in the «Basketbottle project».
The project encourages fans and sports lovers in a playful way to collect waste at stadiums separately.
Wilson SIBUR Ecoball becomes the official ball of the League and its calling card.
Wilson is replaced by Jögel, a Russian manufacturer of balls and sports equipment.
The result of cooperation is new basketball Jögel Ecoball 2.0 and Jögel Sibur Ecoball Training.
At the All-Star Game in St. Petersburg, the project of the first ecoball made of recycled plastic in collaboration between VTB United League, SIBUR and Wilson was presented. This is a real breakthrough in the use of recycled materials and a new stage in the «Basketbottle project».
The project encourages fans and sports lovers in a playful way to collect waste at stadiums separately.
Wilson SIBUR Ecoball becomes the official ball of the League and its calling card.
Wilson is replaced by Jögel, a Russian manufacturer of balls and sports equipment.
The result of cooperation is new basketball Jögel Ecoball 2.0 and Jögel Sibur Ecoball Training.
Collection of raw materials
PET bottles sorted through separate waste collection are used.
Recycling
Sorting, cleaning and crushing of plastics at the recycling plant.
Ball base
An environmentally friendly composite — recycled plastic fibers — is used to create the material.
Final product
The ecoball is the joint result of the efforts of dozens of professionals and all those who support separate waste collection.
It is a great pleasure for a sportsperson to play the new Jögel ecoball. The ball is handy, not slippy and gives a great grip. Its creators focused on even the slightest nuances affecting players' performance. I'm happy that VTB United League chose it official ball and I hope it will stay with us for a long time. I'm proud to be part of the team that supports and employs such sustainably minded solutions. This not only improves our game performance, but sets the bar for other organizations and athletes.
People often find it hard to imagine that a used plastic bottle can be recycled and used as the base for a professional match ball. What was waste yesterday can now be part of the game, part of history, part of memorable victories and dramatic defeats. The use of a ball made of recycled plastic takes the ecology of Russian sports to a whole new level. As a former basketball player, I can say that professional players set high requirements for the main tool of the game. And I am glad that the ecoball has passed serious tests and the highest FIBA certification.
Today, the principles of environmental friendliness are used in all areas of human activity, from the economy to social life. It is important that Russian businesses are actively engaged in this process. SIBUR is a vivid example. It implements these principles at all stages of production, as well as participates in the formation of new environmental consciousness. Russia’s best athletes, inspiring thousands of boys and girls, will play basketball with a ball made from recycled plastic. It is ecology that is one of the stimuli to progress.
The VTB League together with its long-standing partner, SIBUR, presented Ecoball 2.0. It is a ball by the Russian brand Jögel that is even more environmentally friendly than its predecessor. Each ball is made of recycled plastic from 8 half-liter bottles. It's hugely important that the ball is FIBA approved for use at top-level competitions. This is the first Russian ball to obtain such certification. Our ball caught the interest of our colleagues from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. We already have some ideas on further development. It's planned to create ball ranges for children's, university, youth and mass sport. This is a very interesting market divided into three different price segments. A more expensive basketball will be for high-performers. Then there will be a product for university and school leagues. Finally, we and Jögel agreed to make a widely available ball.
Football starts with the ball. You might have no impressive outfit or even playing ground, but the game is impossible without a ball. It's great when the ball also holds a special meaning for players and fans. The new ecoball created by Jögel and supported by SIBUR enables thousands of Russian boys and girls to polish up their skills, improve their performance and excel in football while being environmentally aware. Recycled plastic used for the football allows to make the planet cleaner and also serves as a practical and creative way of reaching out to young footballers on environmental issues. I hope that such balls will soon move ahead to professional games.
In 2023, SIBUR launched the School of Football social project that already allowed hundreds of boys and girls across Russia to play the new eco-ball. It is a really awesome game ball that, despite its amateur status, in fact has all the characteristics required for Quality Pro. The ball showed its worth and didn't lose its quality over two weeks of intense training, which is essential in both amateur and professional football. It deserves to be tried out by as many kids across the country as possible!
I am glad that we have managed to realize such an interesting and ambitious project. This is definitely an evolutionary step forward for all of us.
One of the goals of SIBUR 2025 Sustainability Strategy is to recycle at least 100,000 tons of polymer waste through our own projects and projects with partners. And in doing so, we are committed to creating vibrant innovative solutions that help bring waste back into the cycle. The ecoballs for football and basketball, created together with Russia’s Jogel, is just an example of such a solution. It is particularly encouraging that it is implemented at the intersection of ecology, sport and active lifestyle. This is further proof of how many new uses plastic can have when it is recycled.
Vitaly Fridzon
It is a great pleasure for a sportsperson to play the new Jögel ecoball. The ball is handy, not slippy and gives a great grip. Its creators focused on even the slightest nuances affecting players' performance. I'm happy that VTB United League chose it official ball and I hope it will stay with us for a long time. I'm proud to be part of the team that supports and employs such sustainably minded solutions. This not only improves our game performance, but sets the bar for other organizations and athletes.
Sergei Bykov
People often find it hard to imagine that a used plastic bottle can be recycled and used as the base for a professional match ball. What was waste yesterday can now be part of the game, part of history, part of memorable victories and dramatic defeats. The use of a ball made of recycled plastic takes the ecology of Russian sports to a whole new level. As a former basketball player, I can say that professional players set high requirements for the main tool of the game. And I am glad that the ecoball has passed serious tests and the highest FIBA certification.
Aleksander Kozlov
Today, the principles of environmental friendliness are used in all areas of human activity, from the economy to social life. It is important that Russian businesses are actively engaged in this process. SIBUR is a vivid example. It implements these principles at all stages of production, as well as participates in the formation of new environmental consciousness. Russia’s best athletes, inspiring thousands of boys and girls, will play basketball with a ball made from recycled plastic. It is ecology that is one of the stimuli to progress.
Sergei Kushchenko
The VTB League together with its long-standing partner, SIBUR, presented Ecoball 2.0. It is a ball by the Russian brand Jögel that is even more environmentally friendly than its predecessor. Each ball is made of recycled plastic from 8 half-liter bottles. It's hugely important that the ball is FIBA approved for use at top-level competitions. This is the first Russian ball to obtain such certification. Our ball caught the interest of our colleagues from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. We already have some ideas on further development. It's planned to create ball ranges for children's, university, youth and mass sport. This is a very interesting market divided into three different price segments. A more expensive basketball will be for high-performers. Then there will be a product for university and school leagues. Finally, we and Jögel agreed to make a widely available ball.
Alexei Smertin
Football starts with the ball. You might have no impressive outfit or even playing ground, but the game is impossible without a ball. It's great when the ball also holds a special meaning for players and fans. The new ecoball created by Jögel and supported by SIBUR enables thousands of Russian boys and girls to polish up their skills, improve their performance and excel in football while being environmentally aware. Recycled plastic used for the football allows to make the planet cleaner and also serves as a practical and creative way of reaching out to young footballers on environmental issues. I hope that such balls will soon move ahead to professional games.
Dmitry Sychev
In 2023, SIBUR launched the School of Football social project that already allowed hundreds of boys and girls across Russia to play the new eco-ball. It is a really awesome game ball that, despite its amateur status, in fact has all the characteristics required for Quality Pro. The ball showed its worth and didn't lose its quality over two weeks of intense training, which is essential in both amateur and professional football. It deserves to be tried out by as many kids across the country as possible!
Artur Movsesian
I am glad that we have managed to realize such an interesting and ambitious project. This is definitely an evolutionary step forward for all of us.
Maksim Remchukov
One of the goals of SIBUR 2025 Sustainability Strategy is to recycle at least 100,000 tons of polymer waste through our own projects and projects with partners. And in doing so, we are committed to creating vibrant innovative solutions that help bring waste back into the cycle. The ecoballs for football and basketball, created together with Russia’s Jogel, is just an example of such a solution. It is particularly encouraging that it is implemented at the intersection of ecology, sport and active lifestyle. This is further proof of how many new uses plastic can have when it is recycled.