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Adidas sponsors many athletes and teams around the world. One of the first prominent endorsers of Adidas equipment was American running legend Jesse Owens, the gold medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Football sponsorships
Adidas produces the kits of some of the biggest domestic and international football teams, including Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Ajax, as well as the national teams of Germany, France, Romania, Argentina, Mexico and Spain. They produce the balls used in the UEFA Champions League matches and FIFA World Cup tournaments since 1970.
FIFA World Cup 1954
When West Germany won the 1954 FIFA World Cup, their footwear was supplied by Adidas. These shoes introduced a technological breakthrough: studs with screws. When the weather was good and the pitch was hard, the shoes were equipped with short studs; when it rained, longer studs were screwed on the bottom of the shoes. As the final game against the highly-favoured team from Hungary was played in heavy rain, this gave the German players a firmer hold on the slippery pitch. This anecdote was a plot device used in the successful German film, The Miracle of Bern, which was a movie version of the 1954 World Cup.
FIFA World Cup 2006
More recently, some players on the German national team who have contracts with rival sportswear companies (most notably Nike endorsers Jens Lehmann and Miroslav Klose) have complained about the clause on Adidas' contract with the national side requiring them to wear Adidas kit, including footwear. Lehmann cited foot pain from the boots that bothered him during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Several players threatened to boycott an international friendly against Sweden in protest against the rule. However, the German Football Association was able to reach a new agreement with Adidas in September 2006 to allow the players to wear their own brand of boots, and in the goalkeepers' case, their own gloves.
Official FIFA World Cup supplier
| Tournament | Name of the match ball design |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Telstar Durlast |
| 1974 | |
| 1978 | Tango |
| 1982 | Tango España |
| 1986 | Azteca México |
| 1990 | Etrusco Unico |
| 1994 | Questra |
| 1998 | Tricolore |
| 2002 | Fevernova |
| 2006 | Teamgeist |
Official UEFA supplier
Adidas also designs special balls for UEFA competitions. The company has supplied the ball for the UEFA European Championship ever since 1984, starting with the Tango Mundial, and also produces the Finale ball for use in the UEFA Champions League.
Team and player sponsorships
Adidas sponsors and provides kits, gear and accessories to several professional and collegiate teams all over the world, the most notable perhaps being the Germany national football team, the association running back at least to the West German World Cup winning team of 1954.
Football (soccer) teams with kits manufactured by Adidas
Africa
El Zamalek
FUS Rabat- Hassania Agadir
- IZK Khemisset
- Jeunesse Massira
- Kawkab Marrakech
- Wydad
Étoile Sportive du Sahel
Orlando Pirates FC- Camps Bay FC
Asia
Europe
Until the 1980s, adidas held a virtual monopoly over the German Bundesliga. The only significant competitor at the time was Puma, and even they were never able to sign more than three or four teams at a time. Such was the hold of adidas on the Bundesliga that in kicker magazine's yearly preview issue, the section featuring team photos and rosters was for a long time preceded with a full-page advertisement declaring how many of the league's teams wore adidas jerseys. Only with the entry of Nike onto the market in 1991 did adidas' control of the Bundesliga loosen somewhat.
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North America
- All Major League Soccer teams, plus MLS All-Star Teams.
UANL Tigres
Harbour View FC
Club Deportivo Victoria
South America
River Plate- Club Deportivo Riestra
Fluminense- Palmeiras
Universidad de Chile
Deportivo Cali- Millonarios - Since 2009
- Atlético Nacional - Since 2009
Estrella Roja FC
Oceania
National
CONCACAF - North America, Central America & the CaribbeanCONMEBOL - South AmericaCAF - Africa |
UEFA- Europe |
AFC - AsiaOFC -Oceania |
