Meeting after Adidas exit
Habeck welcomes DFB bosses in pink
April 11, 2024, 12:28 a.m
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When he received the DFB bosses at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Habeck picked up the national team’s pink away jersey. After his criticism of the supplier change from Adidas to Nike, the Green politician had to listen to harsh accusations. Everything may now appear in a rosier light.
After his criticism of the German Football Association’s change of supplier, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck met with the DFB bosses for an exchange and wore the national team’s pink and purple away jersey. “I decided on the pink blockbuster – I’d rather leave number 10 to Musiala on the pitch,” the Green politician wrote in a post on Instagram that evening about two pictures with different jersey variants. You can see it: Habeck, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and DFB Managing Director Andreas Rettig. “Thank you DFB for the good exchange. Kick-off is in 65 days – I’m looking forward to the European Championships and our DFB team.”
Regarding the change of supplier from Adidas to the US sporting goods giant Nike from 2027, Habeck said that he would have “wanted a bit more local patriotism” from the DFB. Adidas has its headquarters in Herzogenaurach. In response, Neuendorf said that the statements of some politicians had left him “a little bit stunned.” Habeck then appeared open to a conversation with Neuendorf about the association’s Nike deal. The meeting took place at the minister’s invitation, he said.
“Habeck’s statements are very strange”
The DFB announced almost three weeks ago that the contract with long-term partner Adidas would expire at the end of 2026 after more than 70 years. Nike will equip the DFB from 2027 until the end of 2034. Neuendorf also justified the change with financial aspects as Nike’s offer was “far above” those of its competitors. Habeck’s statements were also “very strange,” said former state politician Neuendorf. “This is about competition, this is about a market economy.” The DFB simply accepted the significantly better offer.
According to information from the Handelsblatt, Nike is said to transfer more than 100 million euros per year – twice as much as Adidas is currently supposedly paying. As a result, a discussion developed in which Neuendorf noted that a lot of things were said without any background knowledge. However, Habeck was not alone in his criticism. CDU leader Friedrich Merz also called the decision “incomprehensible” and “unpatriotic.” Hesse’s CDU Prime Minister Boris Rhein said: “The world champion wears Adidas, not some American fantasy brand.”