By Mark Baber
December 11 – Turning a blind eye to the corruption scandals swirling around Nike, as they have to years of sweatshop and child labour by the same company, the Premier League announced on Wednesday a three-year extension to their long-term official ball partnership with the Eugene, Oregon-founded sportswear brand.
A statement announcing the new deal comes as French prosecutors look into the bypassing of the usual procedure for nominations in awarding the hosting of the IAAF World Championships to Eugene, Oregon and the role of IAAF president Lord Coe in lobbying for that decision, prior to his recent resignation from his £100,000 a year position as a Nike ambassador.
It also comes just days after US Attorney Loretta Lynch issued new indictments related to Nike’s sponsorship of the Brazilian Football Confederation, with the company claiming to have had no knowledge that’s its side-payment of $40 million into a Swiss bank account was related to corruption in any way.
In its statement the Premier League says it “is pleased to announce that Nike will continue as the Official Ball provider for the competition until at least 2019.”
“Nike has been a Premier League partner since 2000/01 and has a track record of providing high quality match balls for the competition. The official Premier League match ball this season is the Nike Ordem 3.”
Richard Masters, the Premier League Managing Director said: “We have an excellent partnership with Nike and are very pleased that it will continue for at least the next three seasons. As the leading global sports brand they are an excellent fit for the Premier League.
“Nike’s commitment to the League, and that of our other commercial partners, is very important in helping us continue to put on a high quality football competition which is enjoyed by fans in the UK and around the world.”
Lorenzo Moretti, Vice-President and General Manager for Western Europe Football at Nike, commented: “Nike is the number one brand in football, and a natural partner for one of the world’s most prestigious football leagues.
“Nike is able to continually innovate through the relationships we hold with the world’s best players, clubs, federations and leagues. With this renewal, we look forward to further strengthening the Premier League.”
The new agreement includes Nike support for the Premier League Players’ Kit Scheme under which Premier League players pay for kits for more than 4,200 schools and local teams.
With Barclays withdrawing their title sponsorship, the Premier League is keen to put in place a new sponsorship structure, of which Nike is now part. However, if prosecutors in Europe and the USA ramp up the pressure on the US out-sourcing giant, it remains to be seen if this latest deal reinforces the narrative that the Premier League is in need of reform to reduce the extent to which it marches to the tune of big money.
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