BLACKBURN Rovers will be the first team to use a new high-tech football when they take on Tottenham Hotspur in their first cup final for 42 years a week on Sunday.

Mitre is choosing the Worthington Cup Final to launch its new ISO League ball. Four years in development, the ball has 26 panels - more than any other football - which its makers, based at the Pentland Facility, in Blackburn, said will improve speed, power, accuracy and control.

The footballs used in this year's final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, on February 24, will be from a limited edition range numbered from one to 100. Number one will be used for the kick-off.

Tom Stopforth, managing director, said: "It's fantastic that our staff at Blackburn are able to be part of the Worthington Cup Final."