After the DFB’s collaboration with Adidas ended, criticism came from many quarters. CDU leader Merz calls the decision “unpatriotic”, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Söder finds it “wrong, a shame and also incomprehensible.”
The decision by the German Football Association (DFB) to have the national soccer teams equipped by the US company Nike from 2027 instead of Adidas as before has caused horrified reactions in politics across all parties.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz denounced the decision as “unpatriotic”. He said he was “completely surprised.” Changing supplier after decades for “purely economic reasons” was “completely incomprehensible” for him.
“The three stripes are of course part of the four stars that we wear on our chests,” said Merz’s party colleague, Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein, alluding to the men’s national soccer team’s four World Cup titles. The world champion wears Adidas and not “some American fantasy brand.” He indicated that the decision could not be final – he could hardly imagine that the DFB would be able to stick with it in the end.
From home and Location patriotism
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also criticized the decision as “wrong, a shame and also incomprehensible”. He would have liked the DFB to be more straightforward – despite all the economic challenges. “German football is pure home – and not a pawn in international corporate battles,” Söder continued.
Thuringia’s head of government Bodo Ramelow told the broadcasters RTL and ntv that this reduction exclusively to money and dollar signs was “really getting on his nerves”. He doesn’t need patriotism for that: “I always advocate that we in Thuringia talk more clearly about our own Thuringian products,” Ramelow continued.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also wanted “a bit more local patriotism”. “I can hardly imagine the German jersey without the three stripes. For me, Adidas and black-red-gold always belonged together,” he explained.
“DFB has decided, he didn’t ask me either”
On the other hand, Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not want to comment on the DFB decision. “The most important thing is that goals are scored,” he said at a press conference in Brussels. He did not want to comment further. “The DFB has decided, they didn’t ask me either.”
Adidas is surprised
According to Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), commerce is destroying tradition and a piece of home here. He thinks this is a wrong decision. “Adidas should no longer be the national jersey in football? A US company instead? I think it’s a wrong decision,” he wrote on the X platform – along with a photo in an Adidas tracksuit.
Nike and the DFB announced their collaboration from 2027 on Thursday. The “Handelsblatt” reported, with reference to industry circles, that Nike had offered the DFB more than 100 million euros per year for this. Adidas has so far paid 50 million euros annually. The sporting goods company from Herzogenaurach, which has been supplying the DFB teams for more than 70 years, was surprised by the decision.
Torben Ostermann, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, March 22, 2024 3:16 p.m