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Adidas to Pay up to Renew Germany Soccer Sponsorship -Sport Bild | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Adidas will pay between 65 million and 70 million euros ($73-$79 million) a year to extend its sponsorship deal with the German soccer association (DFB), Sport Bild reported on Friday.

The German sportswear company, which declined to comment on the report, currently pays around 25 million euros a year to supply the world champions but faced competition from U.S. rival Nike for the contract.

Under the new agreement, Adidas will continue to provide the outfit for national teams for four years from 2019, the newspaper said on Friday, citing sources within DFB. DFB officials were not immediately available for comment.

A battle between Adidas and Nike for dominance of the global soccer gear market has driven a steep rise in sponsorship payments to elite clubs. Adidas said on Thursday it expects sales of soccer boots, shirts and balls to rise 14 percent to a new record of 2.5 billion euros in 2016, showing a return for spending more on partnerships with top teams and players. Soccer balls and footwear make up approximately half of the brand’s expected sales in 2016. Replica soccer team shirts account for the rest. This expectation also indicates an increase from the 2.2 billion euros they gained in sales in 2015.

It expects to sell 1.3 million Germany jerseys and 7 million Euro 2016 soccer balls this year. That is down from the 3 million shirts and 14 million balls it shifted in 2014, when Germany won the World Cup.

Adidas has long been the world’s top soccer brand, but it was overtaken by Nike in the market for boots in 2014, prompting Adidas to lift its marketing spending and release successful new ranges of soccer footwear.

Herbert Hainer, Chief Executive of Adidas, reported to journalists that Adidas has surpassed Nike in the market for soccer boots by 36 percent in the top five European markets.

Rival brand Nike declined to comment on its recent soccer sales until June 28 following its upcoming earnings update.

Adidas, an official sponsor of Europe’s administrative body for football UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), is kitting out nine of the 24 teams playing at Euro 2016, including reigning champions Spain and Germany. Nike has six teams, including host France and England, while smaller German brand Puma has five, including Italy.