The German national team is ending its long-standing partnership with Adidas and has signed a deal that will see Nike make its kits from 2027.
Adidas last signed an eight-year contract with the Germany Football Federation (DFB) in 2018, meaning the men’s 2026 men’s World Cup will be one of the last times the German team’s kit is manufactured by the country’s most famous sportswear company.
During Adidas’ partnership with Germany, which has spanned more than seven decades, the team has won four men’s World Cups, three men’s Euros, two women’s World Cups and eight women’s Euros with the collaboration responsible for many iconic shirts during the 1980s and 1990s.
The DFB’s contract with Nike will run until 2034. “We are grateful to be able to look forward to an economically stable future again as an association thanks to Nike’s commitment,” DFB treasurer Stephan Grunwald said.
“The award to the future supplier partner Nike is the result of a transparent and non-discriminatory tender,” DFB chairman Holger Blask added.
“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 football in Germany.”
Adidas was responsible for perhaps one of football’s most iconic kits: West Germany’s 1990 shirt for their men’s World Cup-winning campaign. Germany’s kit for the following men’s World Cup in 1994 — where they reached the quarter-finals — is also celebrated as a triumph.
West Germany’s iconic Adidas kit from the 1990 World Cup in Italy (Staff/AFP via Getty Images)
Germany’s kit for the men’s European Championship on home soil this summer will still be made by Adidas.
The deal with Nike means the first time the American sportswear company will produce a tournament kit for Germany will likely be for the women’s World Cup in 2027. The contract will also cover the 2028 and 2032 men’s Euros, the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups, the 2029 and 2033 women’s Euros and the 2031 women’s World Cup.
“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 football has owed a lot for more than seven decades,” DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said.
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(Top photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
