Adidas and MLS Extend Kit Deal until 2018
Adidas and Major League Soccer today announced an extension to their strategic partnership agreement aimed at further elevating soccer in the United States and developing opportunities for young players. The partnership extends adidas' position as the official athletic sponsor and product supplier for the MLS through 2018.
Core to the new agreement is a dedicated focus on youth development and programming to help shape the future of the sport in North America.
"The United States is a breeding ground for athletic talent and we need to ensure our homegrown athletes have viable opportunities to play soccer at the highest level," said Patrik Nilsson, president, adidas America.
"We need to accelerate the model for soccer development in North America to attract and keep elite talent engaged and excited about professional opportunities in the sport. We share a long-term vision with MLS to develop the game and are excited to foster the next generation of American soccer stars."
adidas has been a partner of MLS since the league's inception in 1996. In 2004, adidas and MLS announced an exclusive partnership agreement that named adidas the official athletic sponsor and product supplier, outfitting all league teams and supplying the league's official match ball.
"One of the major reasons Major League Soccer has become one of the top soccer leagues in the world is due to the support and commitment of adidas," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "They have a clear vision for the sport in North America, and they see MLS as a cornerstone of that vision. Our extension with adidas is a major statement by an internationally respected brand that MLS is increasing in value and that our commitments to stadium construction, strategic expansion, player development and improvement in the overall quality of play are playing dividends."
adidas is the global leader in soccer and partners with many of the world's greatest soccer clubs and federations including Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Germany and Japan. adidas is an official partner of FIFA, UEFA and the Confederations of African Football. adidas also sponsors world-class athletes like Juan Pablo Angel, Jozy Altidore, Fredy Montero, Lionel Messi, Kaka, Steven Gerrard, Michael Ballack, Xavi, Frank Lampard and Andres Guardado, among others.
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Comments
atleast u got a decent brand, here in australia's a-league every team wears reebok and the quality of kits are horrible
Does this mean that all MLS shirts are made by adidas?
yes, which unless you like seeing the same damn thing for the next 8 years, its bad news
I disagree. As a Chelsea fan I think the latest Arsenal shirt is ace. Adidas shirts are boring as they all have the trademark stripes down the sleeves, which restricts design, and also means nothing can be done to stop the ugly Lotto and Kappa logos on the sleeves of kits.
The worse thing with Nike is the disrespect of clubs traditional colours, Man U should not have had a blavk V and Arseanl's sleeves should never be red/
I think nike fixed that with both of their kits this year... and on top of that, adidas disrespects their teams' badges on their away and third kits, chelsea and liverpools away and 3rd kit have the colours on the badges changed to match the colour scheme of the kit. that is the most stupid move possible
Not sure what you mean when MLS uses the exact same templates not just of Euro clubs but also international squads.
Chicago home - Spain home
LA Galaxy home - Wolfsburg home
FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake - Panathinkaikos
The problem with opening it up for the teams to pick is your less popular teams will end up with suppliers like Macron, Errea, MiFit or, heaven-forbid, Airness.
But its a good thing IMHO that MLS extended just so they cover their bases in case the US doesn't get the WC host bid. If they win their bid, they won't need to do an extension past 2018.
Imagine how much money the EPL or La Liga could earn from such a deal?
If Lyon and Marseille had the same kit maker, Ligue 1 could do it.
The league that really could try it is the Bundesliga. It's probably going to make some local people mad... but outside of Germany, most people see the Bundesliga as Bayern and then everyone else.
NFL Apparel and uniforms are supplied by Reebok.
MLS - adidas
NBA - adidas
MLB - Not sure - Majestic or adidas I think...
NHL - Not sure.
Why can't the teams/franchises have the right to choose their own kit supplier, why does the league have full say?
its because the league is a single entity, meaning the league is the majority owner of all clubs (or franchieses, whatever floats your boat) and have have the authority and right to make any changes or regulations to the league. they are the ones that buys and allocates players to clubs, not individual clubs themselves. MLS just hires owners/investors to manage the club from a local standpoint (meaning in charge of local TV contracts, local endorsements/events, local academies, working with the local government etc etc) so because MLS are the majority owners of every club in the league they are allowed to set sponsorships with whomever in a collective stadpoint. so This MLS adopted a "one brand fits all" mindset because this means MLS is getting a fixed $200 million check for the next 8 years where as a traditional club setting its down kit sponsorship would only last around 4 years for around 13 million or so. but what mls failed to acknowledge is that sponsorships vary and if every club sets up their own sponsorship it can accumulate to worth more than $200 million.
personally i think Clubs should pick their own kit sponsorship because its better financially and come on adidas makes shite kits and their boring and they all look the same. bring in some nikes, pumas, reeboks, umrbos.
MESSAGE TO ALL EURO LEAGUES NEVER EVER ACCEPT ANY SORT OF SINGLE ENTITY STRUCTURE!!!!!