Berlin (AFP) – Germany’s footballers will wear Nike jerseys from 2027, the domestic association said Friday, ending a decades-long partnership with Adidas during which the homegrown brand’s three stripes became synonymous with success on the pitch.
The collaboration between Adidas and the German national football team goes all the way back to the 1950s and the team’s first World Cup success.
The Nike “swoosh” will replace the Adidas logo on the German shirt from 2027, under a deal with the German Football Association (DFB) that will run through 2034.
The deal with the US sportswear giant was “by far the best financial offer” on the table, DFB chief executive Holger Blask said in a statement.
Nike also made a “clear commitment to the promotion of amateur sport, as well as the sustainable development of women’s football in Germany”, Blask said.
The timing of the announcement, just months ahead of the start of the Euro 2024 championships in Germany, was wholly “usual”, Blask said.
The kit change will come as a bitter blow to Adidas, which has faced mounting difficulties of late.
“We were informed by the DFB today that the association will have a new supplier from 2027,” the German sportswear group said in a statement.
– ‘Joint success’ –
The DFB would “do everything for joint success” with its long-time partner Adidas before the end of the year, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf added in the statement.
The German men’s team under the guidance of coach Julian Nagelsmann will set up base for the tournament at the training complex next to Adidas’s home in Herzogenaurach, in Bavaria.
The men will wear Adidas gear again at the 2026 World Cup, being hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada, before switching to Nike.
Germany’s footballers have hoisted a number of trophies while dressed in gear bearing Adidas’s three stripes.
The collaboration between team and kit-maker began in 1954, when West Germany sensationally beat favourites Hungary to win the World Cup that year.
Since then, the German men’s team have lifted another three World Cups, while the women have two to their name.
The loss of the German kit contract comes after the German group reported its first loss in 30 years earlier this month.
A bitter break-up with artist Kanye West in 2022 and the loss of revenues from his popular Yeezy line have weighed on the brand.
For 2023, Adidas registered a loss of 75 million euros ($82 million), following a profit of 612 million euros the previous year.
Adidas had been paying approximately 50 million euros a year to kit out the German national football teams, according to daily Bild.
The popular tabloid described the switch as an “earthquake” after Adidas unveiled the German national team’s jerseys for this year’s Euros last week.
© 2024 AFP
