Nike deal ends German soccer’s long-standing relationship with Adidas

BERLIN — German soccer and Adidas are breaking up. American sportswear giant Nike will supply all of Germany’s national teams with its apparel and equipment from 2027, the German soccer federation surprisingly announced Thursday. Adidas appeared to be surprised by the DFB's decision to switch to its biggest rival, only confirming in a brief statement: “We were informed by the DFB today that the association will have a new supplier from 2027.” German teams wore Adidas gear for all four of the men’s World Cup titles, their three European titles, and the women’s two World Cup and eight European titles. But one thing is also clear — until December 2026, we will do everything we can to achieve shared success with our long-standing and current partner Adidas, to whom German soccer has owed a lot for more than seven decades.” Adi Dassler, the founder of the German sportswear brand, sat on the bench beside West Germany coach Sepp Herberger when the German men's team won the World Cup for the first time in 1954, wearing his company’s screw-in stud boots. Dassler’s company has been supplying German soccer with its gear ever since, and only last week it presented the new jerseys for Euro 2024, which Germany will host between between June 14 and July 14.