Adidas Extends Relationship With Mexican National Team Through 2022
Adidas is not sitting back and celebrating the fact that it sponsors both teams set to battle for the 2014 World Cup championship. Instead, staying true to its “all in or nothing” mantra, adidas is focused on maintaining its position as the world’s leading soccer brand. Today, it announced that it has extended its contractual relationship to support the Mexican National Team through 2022.
At one point-in-time, it was not a given that Mexico would even qualify for the 2014 World Cup. The teamTISI -0.89% not only qualified, it put together a valiant run before eventually losing to a strong Netherlands team that was eventually ousted by Argentina. “With Mexico, we went all in or nothing,” said Ernesto Bruce, Director of Soccer for adidas North America to FORBES. ”What if they didn’t qualify? We held strong, stayed confident and said they were going to qualify. We have definitely reaped the benefits.”
Adidas’ sponsorship of the Mexican National team to continue. Photo courtesy of adidas. Going all in or nothing is a risk for any brand, especially one up against Nike, which lives by a “risk everything” theory that has allowed it to gain traction in the soccer space. While adidas is based in Germany and has put a priority on expanding its presence in South America, it is Mexico that may mean more to the brand at the present time. According to Bruce, Mexico jerseys are selling approximately 1:1 with the U.S. National Team’s jersey. “For us in the U.S., Mexico is our No. 1 selling jersey; Germany and Argentina are tied for second place in terms of total volume,” added Bruce. ”We’ve had a 30% increase in overall sales of Mexican National Team jerseys from the 2010 World Cup to this World Cup even though there was all the drama coming into the event.” Sales of Mexican National Team jerseys are strongest in Mexico followed by within the United States. The Mexican National Team is contracted to play five friendly matches in U.S. every year, but tends to go beyond its obligation, because the team has such a large following. “Latin America is a focus market and Latin America is very important, but more important is the U.S.,” said Bruce. ”People who said that soccer is not relevant and people will not tune in have been absolutely wrong.” Adidas’ long-term commitment to Mexico is largely tied to its goal of expanding its presence within the United States. Bruce refused to provide any financial details concerning adidas’ extension with the Mexican National Team.
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