The announcement by the
German Football Federation
(DFB) on Thursday, March 21, about a
new contract with Nike starting in 2027
, to the detriment of its historical partner
Adidas
, shows to what extent the American giant was gaining ground in the battle between these two great sports brands.
The DFB has since been the subject of harsh criticism for the decision to end its relationship with the great German brand after seven decades, thereby, according to the majority opinion, saying goodbye to a large part of its identity. german.
"I can't imagine the German shirt without the three stripes," said Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor
Robert Habeck
in statements cited by German media.
"
Adidas and Germany are for me part of a whole
. I would have liked a little economic patriotism," he added.
Although it is strategic for Nike as a business,
for the Germans they feel it as a betrayal of the country
, since the American company is also in charge of dressing the English soccer team, Germany's classic rivals.
According to the Germans, "
German football is pure homeland and not a token in the game of international consortia
," as the Prime Minister of Bavaria,
Markus Söder
, said .
In a lightning survey carried out by the newspaper "Bild", in which 400,000 people participated, 85 percent were against the DFB's decision.
Jamal Musiala, in the friendly against France, with one of the latest Adidas models.
Photo: AFP
Originally,
Umbro
was the brand that historically dressed the England team.
That national company accompanied the English team in its only world title, at home in 1966. Umbro's results were not convincing after the 2006 World Cup and
two years later it was bought by Nike
.
Since then, its rivalry with Adidas began to sow.
Not only the "Mannschaft", four-time world champions, but also the German women's and youth teams are included in the contract that will end an era full of shared successes.
Spokespersons for the government and the Ministry of the Interior (responsible for Sports) tried to calm the controversy by considering that it was "
an autonomous decision of the national federation
."
Chancellor
Olaf Scholz
was consulted about the agreement which, according to the financial newspaper "Handelsblatt", will bring the DFB
income of 100 million euros annually, double what Adidas paid
.
"We understand that the issue has an emotional side. For us it is also a before and after when a successful cooperation ends after more than seventy years," the DFB shared on its X account.
This is not the first time that Nike has taken advantage of Adidas.
In 2008, the
French Football Federation
(FFF) opened a period for submitting offers to dress its teams and Nike jumped at the opportunity.
With a proposal of
320 million euros for seven years
, Nike snatched from Adidas the contract it had had with France since 1972 and since 2011 it began to dress the Gauls.
Four stars for as many world titles and 70 years later,
the German brand Adidas loses the contract with its country's team
.
And the winner of the same is none other than Nike, which obtains the agreement for the period 2027-2034.
The impact is enormous for Adidas and has caused debate in Germany since Thursday over
the end of a relationship that seemed indestructible
and whose history goes back even to the first World Cup won by the 'Mannschaft' in 1954.
The Adidas group, whose contract with the DFB lasts until the end of 2026, confirmed its misfortune on Thursday in a statement, noting that it was informed of the change of collaborator.
In any case, he will continue dressing Germany in this year's Euro Cup
, to be held precisely in that country, and in the 2026 World Cup, if the team qualifies.
On the other hand,
Adidas was the official collaborator of the Albiceleste in its last two world titles
, those of 1978 and 2022. Also, since 2006, it has had the Argentine star
Lionel Messi
as one of its spearheads.
After losing the agreement with Germany, Argentina and Spain seem to be the two most relevant for the German brand.
Source: AFP