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German football association to drop Adidas for Nike

March 21, 2024

Germany’s national football association has said it’s ending more than seven decades of cooperation with Adidas for a new contract with US sportswear giant Nike starting in 2027.

https://p.dw.com/p/4dzMY
The official, Adidas-made, jersey and ball for the 2024 European Championships
The 2024 EURO kit will be one of the last Adidas makes for Germany for the forseeable future after the DFB inked a deal with NikeImage: Daniel Karmann/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's national soccer team will start having its kits made by US sportswear giant Nike, dropping its historic partnership with German company Adidas, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Thursday.

The deal with Nike will start in 2027 and run until at least 2034, the DFB said in a statement.

"We look forward to working with Nike and thank them for the trust they have placed in us. The future partnership will enable the DFB to continue to fulfill key tasks in the coming decade with a view to the comprehensive development of football in Germany," DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said. 

"But one thing is also clear: until December 2026, we will be fully committed to the joint success of our longstanding and current partner Adidas, to whom German football has owed a great deal for more than seven decades."

Why is the German team switching from Adidas to Nike?

The German team's 70-year partnership with Adidas has brought success for both the men's and the women's teams having won six World Cups between them while bearing Adidas' three-stripe brand.

Between 1974 and 1978, the German kit was made by Erima, but the company was bought by Adidas in 1976. 

A recent Adidas redesign for the men's away shirt raised some eyebrows in Germany. Instead of the traditional black and red, or green, the kit was a bright pink and blue.

However, it was money that pushed DFB to make the switch to Nike, according to treasurer Stephan Grunwald.

"We are grateful to be able to look forward to an economically stable future again as an association thanks to the commitment promised by Nike," he said.

ab/sms (dpa, Reuters)