“Uncompetitive in the end”
Adidas gave the DFB “effectively no choice” with its offer
March 22, 2024, 9:06 p.m
The US market leader Nike will dress the German national soccer team from 2027 – and will pay a large amount of money for it. The previous supplier Adidas rejected its offer, which was apparently unacceptable for the association, even with good intentions.
The German Football Association has once again rejected the loud criticism of its change of supplier and speaks of a decision that has virtually no economic alternative. The offers from Nike and Adidas were so far apart “that we actually had no choice,” said DFB treasurer Stephan Grunwald to the business magazine “Capital”.
“To put it in business language: Adidas’ offer was ultimately not competitive. The difference between the bidders was significant,” said Grunwald: “Because of a difference of two million euros per year, the DFB would not have left Adidas.” He could neither confirm nor deny exact amounts. The editor-in-chief of the football magazine “11 Freunde”, Philipp Köster, said in an interview with ntv that the facts surrounding the deal were “such that the DFB couldn’t decide any differently.” According to the magazine’s information, Adidas has even undercut the payments from the previous contract “by a two percent range” in the new offer.
“Prosecution in the house”
Grunwald cited legal requirements in addition to the association’s economic situation as the reason for exchanging its long-standing contractual partner Adidas for the US company. The contract will be concluded by the company in which the DFB conducts its business operations.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck had publicly criticized the deal and criticized the lack of “location patriotism”. Grunwald now emphasized that the DFB had for the first time “carried out a transparent tendering process for the equipment contract”: “I say very clearly: If we awarded the contract to Adidas with the offers that were on the table and with arguments like that long partnership, trust and loyalty, then I would probably have had the public prosecutor’s office in the house today. Even if the DFB had absolutely wanted to keep adidas – it would not have been possible based on the offers available. I also expect a Federal Minister of Economics to that he knows something like that.”
Here you can Interview by colleagues from “Capital” with Stephan Grunwald read in full length.