For thirty years the Chinese Football Association (CFA) had an exclusive sponsorship deal with Adidas. However, when it was time to renew, Adidas wanted to change the terms of the sponsorship. Reports show that Adidas wanted to be a sponsor, but on a different scale. The CFA felt like they needed more than what Adidas was offering, so they turned to the world’s leading apparel company, Nike.
The Chinese Football Association was able to successfully negotiate a deal with Nike as the exclusive kit (uniform) sponsor. With this deal Nike gained the right to sponsor all seven national teams, including men’s and women’s national football teams, national Olympic team, and a few youth teams.
The new deal between the Chinese Football Association is reported to be worth $16 million per year. The contract is for the next 10-12 years. The deal is worth approximately 30% in apparel, gear and supplies. Meaning the other 70% would come from financing.
Nike is expected to unveil the first set of kits for the 2015 Asian Cup sometime next week.
