Adidas overthrows Puma in supply deal for Italian soccer team’s kit

Adidas will be the official supplier of the Italian soccer team’s kit starting next year. With the deal, the German company that was founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, just unseated its rival, Puma, which has been sponsoring the team since 2008.

Adidas signed a sponsorship deal with the team, and this was officially confirmed by the Italian Football Federation, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC), on Wednesday, March 9. In 2023, the brand will be producing the Italian national soccer team’s kit that they will use for the matches.

It was explained that Adidas is not only making kits for one team but the entire national soccer team of different categories, including the youth, men, women, beach soccer, futsal, and e-sports. All of them will be wearing the brand’s uniform starting January 2023.

According to Reuters, two insiders who are familiar with the matter said that Adidas and the FIGC signed a four-year contract worth about €35 million or $38.5 million a year. It was noted that the footwear and athletic apparel manufacturer already has several kit supply deals with other national teams in countries such as Argentina, Germany, and Spain.

No other details about the sponsorship agreement between the FIGC and Adidas are revealed, and the latter was said to have declined to comment about it. In any case, Puma has been the company’s rival for a long time and it has been providing the kit to the Italian team for more than a decade already. In fact, it will still supply the kit for the national team when they compete for the World Cup later this year.

Assuming that the soccer team will make it to the competition, the players will still be using the kit supplied by Puma. The World Cup is set to take place in Qatar this year. Meanwhile, Adidas has provided the Adidas kits during the 1974 FIFA World Cup so this is also like a homecoming for the brand.

“The announcement of the partnership with Adidas is a source of pride for the FIGC. This collaboration represents a fundamental step in the growth path of our commercial appeal and strengthens the development process of our brand both in Italy and abroad,” Gabriele Gravina, FIGC’s president, said in a press release. “The passion and enthusiasm that we have found in Adidas are the same that the Italian Federation deepens every day in promoting all the Italian national teams and Italian football, at every level.”