FRANKFURT-. The German Football Federation (DFB) announced this Thursday the signing of a contract with the American giant Nike for the period 2027-2034, a decision that will mark the end of an era, its seven-decade collaboration with the German sports brand Adidas.
Nike will dress “all DFB national teams,” according to a statement. That brand would have presented “by far the best financial offer”, the amount of which was not communicated, according to the president of the board of directors of the federation, Holger Blask.
The American firm “impressed with its vision, which includes a clear commitment to the promotion of sport amateur and popular, as well as the development of women's football in Germany,” according to Blask.
The news is a hard blow for Adidas, whose history has been linked to the German national team since 1954, to the point of having established a historic and emblematic union in the world of football. sport.
The Adidas group, whose contract with the DFB lasts until the end of 2026, laconically and resignedly confirmed the news, indicating that it had been informed of it this Thursday.
The president of the German Federation, Bernd Neuendorf, noted in the DFB statement that German football “owes a lot” to Adidas “for more than seven decades.”
At Euro 2024 (June 14-July 14), which will be played in Germany, the host team will set up its concentration during the event near the Adidas headquarters, in Herzogenaurach, in the south of the country. She will be dressed at the tournament by the German brand, which presented the uniforms for the event last week.
“An earthquake”
If Germany manages to qualify, the 2026 World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be the last major tournament with Adidas on their shirt, where they wear four stars for the four world titles won by the 'Mannschaft' in its history.
In history there will be moments like that of Adi Dassler, founder of Adidas, personally adjusting the cleats of German scorer Fritz Walter's shoes before the 1954 World Cup final, which went down in legend as the 'miracle of Berne'.
Nike had tried to snatch the DFB contract from Adidas on several occasions, forcing the German company to increase its outlays to keep it, raising the amount to 50 million euros (54.29 million dollars) annually in the last contract. for four years, which was double the previous figure, according to Bild.
For that publication, the change of sports brand in the German national team is an “earthquake” for Adidas.
With this agreement, Nike reinforces its involvement in football, where it has equipped Brazil since 1989 and also dresses other important teams such as France, Portugal, England, Croatia, the Netherlands and the United States.
