FFA and NIKE sign biggest ever partnership
The corporate commitment to football in Australia reached a new high today when Football Federation Australia announced its biggest ever sponsorship agreement with Nike that will effectively take in the next two World Cup and three Asian Cup campaigns.
The corporate commitment to football in Australia reached a new high today when Football Federation Australia announced its biggest ever sponsorship agreement with Nike.
The two companies revealed that they had renewed their successful partnership and had entered into a nine-year agreement that will see Nike continue to be the official Performance Partner of the FFA and its national teams.
It is by far the biggest sponsorship agreement signed for football in Australia and is Nike-s biggest ever commitment to any sport in Australia.
The sponsorship, which represents a significant increase in the value of the previous agreement, covers the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, 2007, 2011 and 2015 AFC Asian Cups and the 2007 and 2011 FIFA Women-s World Cups.
Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley said that the size and length of the partnership was a clear indicator of the level of support there is for football in the corporate sector.
“Nike was the first company to take the leap of faith with the game when ‘New Football- was launched and I-m delighted that we will now be able to further develop what has already been an extremely successful partnership,” said Mr Buckley.
“The national team jersey created by Nike for the World Cup has already become a symbol of international sporting success for all Australians. It-s no wonder so many tens of thousands of Australians now own one.”
“Off the back of the World Cup and with the AFC Asian Cup just around the corner it is an exciting time to be associated with football. This commitment from such a prestigious international sports brand is a terrific endorsement for the game in Australia.”
“Like many of our other partners, Nike has played a very active role in promoting football and this new deal will see it invest even more heavily in promotion of the sport.”
Nike Pacific MD Paul Zadoff said: “In 2004 Nike was excited about the potential of football in Australia and the success of the game over the past two years has surpassed our expectations - not only at the highest level of the game with both the Socceroos and Matildas success, but also the increasing popularity of the Hyundai A-League and the growing levels of participation in the sport at grassroots.
“Nike-s significant nine-year commitment to the game and our ongoing relationship with the FFA and the national teams will only strengthen our leadership in the world-s most popular game, particularly going into the Asian Cup next year.”
Nike has experienced dramatic growth in football over the past decade, from roughly $US40 million business in 1994 to one that is approaching $US1.5 billion today. This year Nike expects to sell a record 23 million pairs of football boots, more than 10 million balls and more than two million of the team replica uniforms globally.
Nike currently sponsors 32 clubs,18 national teams, including Brazil, Holland and Portugal, as well as many of the game-s great players.
ABOUT NIKE, INC. (NYSE:NKE) Based near Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; NIKE Bauer Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan, which designs, markets, and distributes fine dress and casual shoes and accessories; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel.