The decades-long kit supply tie-up between German soccer’s DFB governing body and German sportswear giant adidas, one of the most renowned technical deals in sport, will come to an end after the 2026 World Cup.
Sportswear rivals NIKE will take over as kit and equipment supplier to the DFB for the 2027-34 cycle, it was unveiled yesterday. Nike will equip all German national representative sides and “promote German soccer in its entirety,” the DFB has said.
German teams have used Adidas products at all major FIFA World Cups dating back to 1954, but the DFB has said that Nike made “the best economic offer” for the cycle following on from the 2026 World Cup (to be held in Mexico, the US, and Canada).
The German business publication Handelsblatt has reported that the annual value of the Nike-DFB deal will be at least €100 million ($108.1 million).
Holger Blask, chair of the DFB’s board of directors, has said: “The award to the future supplier partner Nike is the result of a transparent and non-discriminatory tender. Nike made by far the best economic offer and also convinced with its content vision, which also represents a clear commitment to the promotion of amateur and popular sports as well as the sustainable development of women's soccer in Germany.
“The timing of the tender is usual with regard to the planning and lead times and was discussed in advance with all relevant market participants.”
The last renewal between the DFB and Adidas was announced in late 2018, covering the 2023-26 cycle, with an estimated annual value of $60 million. That period includes the UEFA men’s European Championships taking place in Germany later this year.
Between them, the men’s and women’s German sides have won six World Cups during the seven decades of the DFB-Adidas alliance. The Adidas three-stripe insignia on German teams’ kit has been one of the most iconic collaborations in world sport during that period.
The news comes after another blow earlier this month for Adidas, which a few weeks ago unveiled a loss of €75 million for the 2023 financial year - the first time since 1992 that an annual loss has been recorded.
Elsewhere in European national soccer team kit sponsorships, it was reported last month that Adidas, Nike, and Puma are all set to enter a bidding war to become the new official kit and equipment supplier of French soccer’s FFF governing body.
Nike is the current holder of the kit tie-up with the FFF, which has a reported value of around €50.5 million per year and expires in 2026.
