Jae Ah Ho's Blog

 http://www.ecouterre.com/nikes-french-football-kit-is-derived-entirely-from-recycled-plastic-bottles/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/business/global/19nike.html

This article is about the French national soccer team is now wearing a new uniform sponsored by Nike. Since the French Football Federation (FFF) and Adidas had established a strong partnership previously, the latest news was pretty astonishing. France team’s reputation and its strong image had played an important role in representing Adidas, so it might be hard for soccer fans to imagine French soccer players in Nike uniforms. When I was a high school student, Adidas soccer jerseys were so popular because of superstar players such as Zidane, Batistuta, Henry, and so on. Many students were yearning for their fantastic plays and dreaming about becoming one of those players by wearing the same uniform. Those world-famous players’ dominance stimulated soccer fans to buy Adidas soccer jerseys.

Now, the longtime rival of Adidas, Nike, takes an opportunity to broaden its market power in Europe by having a partnership with the French football federation. Sponsoring famous sports players and teams is a well known marketing strategy in this industry since it is the most effective and efficient way to advertise their innovative products. However, the French national soccer team was a big disappointment during 2010 World Cup because of their poor performance and strife within the team. Since the reputation of the team was quite a bit damaged, it was a risky decision for Nike to support the FFF. The dice was already cast, and I would like to see how the huge and brave investment will pay off.