Adidas Renews British Olympic Association Sponsorship

(ATR) The BOA inked an eight-year renewal of its partnership with the sportswear brand through the 2024 Olympics.

The sponsorship and licensing deal continues the long-standing relationship between Team GB and Adidas, which began at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. The German multinational company remains the BOA’s longest serving domestic partnership.

The agreement, which recognizes Adidas as the official sportswear partner for Team GB, will also see Adidas continue to be an Team GB Licensee, producing replica and official supporter apparel, accessories and footwear.

Adidas will kit out winter and summer Olympic athletes in competition and village wear across all 35 Olympic sports, as well as the various international sports events where Team GB are represented, including this summer’s European Games in Baku.

BOA chairman Sebastian Coe said having Adidas on board through 2024 "is vital for our continued Olympic sporting success".

"Los Angeles holds such fond memories for me as an athlete and knowing that Adidas have been with Team GB on the journey since those Games shows the strength of the relationship between our two organisations," he said.

BOA chief executive Bill Sweeney, who was involved in negotiating the sponsorship renewal, has strong connections with the sportswear firm. He served as senior vice president of Adidas Reebok Group from 2003-2010.

Sweeney was responsible for the global management and strategic direction of the business that included Adidas’ support of Team GB for the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games.

"Adidas have shown over many years what an incredible track record they have in creating high-performance product for Team GB across multiple Olympic sports and we are proud to be extending our close relationship with them through to 2024 – a partnership of 40 years," he said in a statement.

"This eight year deal reinforces the long-term value of theTeam GB brand and represents a significant step forward in our post-London 2012 commercial program."

Sweeney told Around the Rings in February that the organization was in much better financial health than in 2013 when he joined the BOA thanks to a wave of sponsorships.

Sweeney and his commercial team are planning to open up revenue streams previously unexploited by the BOA. They are working on inking deals with a series of licensing and digital partners and expect to have agreements in place before the year’s end.

Among his goals for 2015 are to introduce "a more aggressive e-commerce online strategy, more licensing partners tied into that, more online e-commerce revenues coming in, more Team GB merchandise going through traditional retail as well."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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