Italy’s National Team Strikes Sponsorship Deal With Adidas, Replacing Puma As Kit Supplier

Starting in 2023, the UEFA Euro 2020 reigning champions will wear Adidas gear, Italy’s governing soccer body FIGC announced yesterday on its website.

The deal, which sees Adidas replace German sportswear competitor Puma as the Azzurri’s official kit supplier, covers the men’s, women’s and youth national soccer teams as well as Italy’s futsal, beach soccer and e-sports teams.

The first time the Italy national soccer team featured the Puma logo dates back to 2003. Twenty years later – during which Italy experienced glorious highs like the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020 victories, but also extreme lows like the missed qualification to the 2018 FIFA World Cup – the partnership with Puma has come to an end.

While the Puma deal guaranteed the Italian soccer federation about €20 million ($22m) a year, the new Adidas partnership will secure Italy €35 million ($38.7m) annually, according to Reuters estimates.

“We are incredibly proud to announce this new long-term partnership with FIGC,” Adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted was quoted as saying on the FIGC website.

Adidas has thus added Italy’s name to a client list that already features prominent national teams like Germany, Spain, Argentina and Belgium.

The Italy national team will wear Puma gear one last time in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will span for 28 days from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18, 2022 with Qatar as the hosting nation. Roberto Mancini’s men, however, have not yet booked a slot in the prestigious, highly-remunerative international tournament.

In fact, this month will be crucial for Lorenzo Insigne and his teammates, who are battling North Macedonia in a one-legged tie on March 24. Then, the winner of that fixture will advance to face either Turkey or Portugal in the playoff final, a match that will assign a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage.

The European reigning champions are under strong pressure to qualify and avoid being left out of the FIFA World Cup tournament for the second consecutive time.