The German football federation (Deutscher Fußball-Bund, DFB) has announced that starting from 2027 Nike will be the technical sponsor of the German national football teams, taking the place of Adidas, the German company that has produced the shirts for the last seventy years. ‘years. The bond between Adidas and the German national team was one of the closest and most iconic in international football, so the news was greeted with a certain surprise: even by Adidas itself, which said it only became aware of the matter on Thursday, on of the official announcement, according to what German newspapers write.
In a statement, Holger Blask, the president of the board of directors of the DFB, explained that Nike had made “by far” the best economic offer and that it “also convinced with its vision of the contents”, having committed itself to promoting the amateur sport and the development of German women’s football. Adidas will continue to supply shoes, clothing and sports equipment to both the German men’s and women’s national teams until the end of 2026. The new contract with Nike will begin on January 1, 2027 and will continue until at least the end of 2034.
The amount of the contract was not disclosed, but the newspaper Handelsblattwhich cites “sources from industrial circles”, says that today Adidas pays around 50 million euros a year to the DFB, while Nike’s offer should exceed 100 million euros a year (reaching more than 800 million euros in eight years).
The choice to prefer an American supplier to a German one has provoked various reactions among the country’s political leaders. In particular, Economy Minister Robert Habeck, of the center-left Green party, told the German news agency Dpa: «I can’t imagine the German shirt without the three stripes. For me Adidas and black-red-gold have always been together. A piece of German identity. I would have liked a little more local patriotism.”
But as he writes it Spiegel many fans also criticized the federation’s choice. The image of the German national team, historically among the strongest and most successful in international football, was closely linked to the shirts with the logo and the typical three stripes of Adidas, which over the decades has produced for Germany some of the most loved and remembered uniforms of the World Cup history, like the one worn at the 1990 World Cup won in Italy.
Rudi Völler at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, won by Germany. (David Cannon/Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive)
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the DFB said that it understands «every emotion» and that this is a drastic event also for the company itself, «This does not leave us indifferent», it wrote. However, he added: «the DFB must make decisions by making economic evaluations», because it is responsible for over «24,000 football clubs, 2.2 million active players, numerous volunteers and almost 55,000 referees».
Last week Adidas and the national team presented the shirts for the European Championships, which will be in June. One of these, the pink and purple one for away games, which replaced the classic asphalt-coloured one, caused a lot of discussion (it was defined as “Barbie’s shirt” and, as the Southgerman newspaper, according to some fans it would threaten their virility) but so far it has sold very well. Furthermore, during the European Championships the DFB team will also be hosted in the Adidas stadium in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria.
Michael Ballack ai Mondiali del 2006 in Germania. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
2024-03-22 08:59:18
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