The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has officially signed a multi-year deal with adidas, ending its nearly 20 year partnership with PUMA.
No details have been announced regarding the news, but Italy will still wear PUMA at the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar — if they qualify. According to reports published by Footy Headlines, adidas is expected to pay anywhere between €23-35m EUR per year, as opposed to the €19m EUR supplied by PUMA.
In an official statement by the sportswear manufacturer, adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted said: “We’re incredibly proud to be announcing this long-term partnership with the Italian Federation. We’re excited to have one of the most successful footballing nations joining our portfolio of international Federations, alongside the likes of the DFB (Germany), RFEF (Spain), AFA (Argentina) & RBFA (Belgium) & are looking forward to see what we can achieve together.”
Gli Azzuri has been supplied by adidas before, between the years of 1974 and 1978, in which the likes of Dino Zoff, Fabio Capello and Antonio Cabrini led the team to a fourth-place finish at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Although the three stripes weren’t noticeably visible on those kits, we can expect exciting things by observing the recent re-partnerships across teams, such as Arsenal and Manchester United.
It’s always a bit of a shock for fans of any football club or national side to end a deal in favor of another one — like the end of a long era in which the side was defined under. So closes the relatively successful run with PUMA, in which the Fabio Cannavaro-led Italy won the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, along with the Italian team who went on a cinderella story to win last summer’s European Cup.
Elsewhere in sports, Russell Wilson has been traded to the Denver Broncos.
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