Nike v Adidas: Soccer World Cup sponsors gear up for England, Spain finale

NEW YORK/LONDON: When England and Spain face off in Sunday's Women's World Cup final, there will be more than sporting pride at stake. A potential multimillion dollar sales boost is also on the table for the winning team's sponsor - Nike, or Adidas.

Sports sponsorship is a huge driver of sales for apparel manufacturers. In 2019, Nike's home jersey for the World Cup-winning US National Women's Team became the top-selling soccer jersey, for both men and women, ever sold on its website, executives told investors.

Overall revenue in the first quarter after the tournament grew 10 per cent, Nike said, including double-digit growth in the company's women's business "off the back of an incredible summer of celebrating female athletes".

Apparel revenue from the 2019 Women's World Cup was four times bigger than it was for the 2015 event, executives said.

Now longtime rivals Nike, sponsoring England, and Adidas, sponsoring Spain, will be hoping to build on that performance.

"It's after the game when they really start to get that exposure and bang for their buck," added Liz Papasakelariou, the North American consumer products lead for consulting group Publicis Sapient.

Nike and Adidas accounted for the majority of the kits worn in the women's tournament, with 23 of the 32 team jerseys in the newly expanded field supplied by the two companies. Nike backed 13 teams, while Adidas had 10.

An unpredictable tournament with major power players knocked out early created bumps in demand for merchandise from the two sportswear giants.

Nike lost enormous earning potential as the US team, which it has sponsored since 1995, suffered their earliest exit ever in the tournament.

However, its deal with the European champions England has proven lucrative as