Saudi national footballers earn their stripes in new kit deal

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s national football teams are to wear Adidas kit exclusively for four years in a deal struck with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

From March, the German sportswear maker will be sole supplier of all training and match wear for the federation’s men’s, women’s, and youth teams.

The deal was announced during a high point for Saudi football, with a new generation of talent coming through elite academies and progress for senior teams.

This year, the Under-23 team won the AFC U-23 Asian Cup without conceding a goal and the Under-20s defended their Arab Cup title to claim back-to-back championships.

Saudi Arabia’s national women’s team was also established this year, while the men’s team will travel to Qatar for their sixth appearance at the World Cup finals after a strong qualification.

The sportswear form has also signed individual deals with Saudi footballers including national captain Salman Al-Faraj, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Abdulelah Almalki and Abdullah Otayf.

Adidas has also signed an individual deal with the women’s international and top scorer in the inaugural women’s football league, Farah Jefry.

The agreement will also bolster Adidas’s commitment to developing the women’s game and investing in grass-roots football to widen access and unearth gems of the future.

Over the last year women’s football in Saudi Arabia has been unleashed with a new premier league, first division, schools league and regional training centers all established. The new partnership will seek to accelerate that growth even further.

Bilal Fares, Adidas’s regional manager for the Middle East, said his firm was proud to have signed the deal.

“We believe that through sport, we have the power to change lives and