Football DFB switches to Nike
The Adidas boss speaks out three hours before kick-off
As of: 6:09 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
“Adidas’ reaction suggests it wasn’t stylish”
“You can’t keep a deal with this dimension secret until after the European Championships,” says BILD sports director Walter M. Straten about the DFB’s change of supplier. The DFB will play with Nike instead of Adidas from 2027. The contract with the US sports manufacturer is scheduled to run until 2034.
Germany is starting the hot phase of preparation for the European Championship with the test against France. The game was overshadowed by the change of supplier at the DFB. Before kick-off, the Adidas boss speaks out. And BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke has his own opinion on politicians’ comments.
When Thomas Müller and his colleagues move into their lovely quarters in the “Home Ground” of Herzogenaurach in a few weeks, the check-in will take on a certain bitter note. The “Home Ground”, a telling name for the national team’s quarters on the campus of supplier Adidas, which has already been used for the 2021 European Championship, will soon lose part of its homely feelings for the German Football Association.
Adidas, which has been a supplier to the DFB team for over 70 years and has repeatedly hosted the DFB team, will be replaced by the US industry leader Nike. Its CEO John Donahoe, who is under economic pressure, allegedly wants to turn German footballers into “global heroes”.
Football fans angry – “Shortly before the European Championships, it’s all about marketing”
The DFB will change its supplier and will play with Nike instead of Adidas from 2027. The contract with the US sports manufacturer is scheduled to run until 2034. Michael Dunsche from the Eller Arminen football fan club said on WELT TV: “We want it to be about sport.”
Source: WELT TV / Fanny Fee Werther, Marcus Tychsen
Changes in supplier are nothing unusual in the world of sports – especially when they happen to the industry leader Nike. But the marriage between Adidas and the DFB is something special, and not just because of the four World Cup titles won together by the men’s team alone.
Adidas was part of the identity of the national team
The pictures in which company founder Adolf Dassler can be seen personally screwing studs into the shoes of German national players are legendary – thus manifesting his very personal part in the “Miracle of Bern” in 1954. From then on, Adidas was essentially part of the identity of the German national football team.
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The test match in France (Saturday, 9 p.m., ZDF and in the WELT live ticker) will be the first after the DFB’s decision. A few hours before kick-off, Adidas CEO Björn Gulden spoke out via Instagram. “Good luck, Germany. No matter what happens in 2027, we are 100 percent behind the team. We are fans and you are family. You will have a fantastic time at Homeground during the Euros and we will be a fantastic host for you,” wrote Gulden.
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Borussia Dortmund’s managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke also commented on the change of supplier. Watzke was particularly annoyed with some politicians. “It was clear and I can understand that this was such a big issue in public. When I was confronted with it, I had to take a breath,” said Watzke on Sky. That was a long-standing relationship between the DFB and Adidas: “But I was extremely annoyed by many comments from politicians who suddenly discovered patriotism for themselves. There are people who said five years ago: ‘Love of country pisses me off’ and are now suddenly discovering patriotism.”