The German Football Association’s (DFB) decision to switch the supplier of the national team’s kit away from Adidas has been blasted by politicians.
The contract will transition from the German company to the US-based firm Nike starting in 2027.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck expressed a desire for more local loyalty, while Health Minister Karl Lauterbach criticized the decision.
The DFB justified the deal on financial grounds, emphasizing its support for grassroots German football.
For over 70 years, Adidas has been the supplier of the German national football team’s kit.
However, reports in the German media suggest that Nike has agreed to pay approximately €100m (£86m; $108m) annually for the kit supply, doubling Adidas’s payment of €50m.
The announcement of the deal on Thursday elicited dismay from politicians across the political spectrum in Germany.
“I can hardly imagine the German jersey without the three stripes,” Mr Habeck said. “For me, Adidas and black-red-gold always belonged together. A piece of German identity.”
Mr Lauterbach said on X, formerly Twitter, it was “a wrong decision where commerce destroys a tradition and a piece of home”.
And Bavarian premier Markus Soeder said the national team always plays in the three stripes of Adidas. “That was as clear as the fact that the ball is round and a game lasts 90 minutes,” he said.
“The success story began in 1954 with the unforgettable World Cup victory, which gave our country self-confidence again. That’s why it’s wrong, a shame and also incomprehensible that this story should end now.”
He said German football should not be “a pawn in international corporate battles” and that “commerce isn’t everything”.
The DFB said on X that it understood the emotional reaction to its decision, saying switching supplier after 70 years was a “drastic event” that “doesn’t leave us cold”.
However, the DFB emphasized that it finances the grassroots of German football, which includes “more than 24,000 football clubs, 2.2 million active players, the numerous volunteers, and almost 55,000 referees.”
“Against this background, the DFB has to make economic decisions,” it said. “Nike made by far the best financial offer in the transparent and non-discriminatory tender process.”
Adidas said it would not comment on contractual details.The row over the German kit comes as politicians in England criticise a Nike design for the England team kit.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the St George’s Cross should not be “messed with” after Nike used different colours, adding navy, light blue and purple to the traditional red.The FA has defended the design, saying “it is not the first time” different colours have been used.