An athlete holds the official ball for the 2008 Beijing Olympics football match during its launching ceremony in Beijing January 26, 2008. Football designed for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was launched in Beijing on Sunday by adidas, an official partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Featuring Chinese characters 'China' written by Former president of the Football Association of China Nian Weisi, the ball will be used in Olympic football preliminaries in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao, and the Olympic finals in the Olympic City of Beijing, according to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The Chinese characters on the ball read, "China".[Agencies]