The announcement of the replacement in 2027 of Adidas by the American Nike as the official brand of the German soccer team caused an earthquake in that country that reached the government, with complaints about a lack of “patriotism.”
It all started when this week, the German Football Federation (DFB) announced an agreement with the North American giant Nike for the period 2027-2034, ending more than 70 years of loyalty to the German brand Adidas. The news came less than three months before the start of Euro 2024 in Germany (June 14 to July 14).
“I can’t imagine a German shirt without the three stripes,” reacted Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck. “Adidas and black-red-yellow,” colors of the German flag, “have always been inseparable for me,” added the environmentalist politician. “I would have appreciated a little more local patriotism,” he criticized.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach also expressed his disappointment. The choice of an American company to dress the ‘Mannschaft’ is “a mistake,” he assessed in his X account, lamenting that “the business destroys a part of the country and a tradition.”
When asked about it in Brussels during a European Union summit, Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not want to assess the change: “The DFB has decided, it has not asked my opinion.” “The important thing is that goals are scored,” he added.
“A question of money”
“German football has always been part of German economic history. The national team, which plays with the three cushions, was as identifiable as saying that the ball is round and that a game lasts 90 minutes,” said Markus Soder, minister of Bavaria, the southern region where Adidas is based.
Beyond politics, anger is widespread in the country. “It is again a question of money,” criticizes the influential magazine Der Spiegel, while the information that appeared in the press, unconfirmed, speaks of a contract of 100 million euros per year.
And yes: it was just a question of money. “The separation with Adidas does not leave us indifferent,” said the Federation. But Nike presented “by far the best economic offer and a clear commitment to the promotion of amateur and popular sports, as well as the sustainable development of women’s football in Germany.”
Given the DFB’s financial problems, “it is a good deal that comes at the right time,” said Christoph Breuer, from the Institute of Sports Economics and Management in Cologne.
2024-03-23 07:30:55
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