#Brazil2014: Battle Of The Sportswear Giants In Africa

VENTURES AFRICA – Brazil 2014 may have ended with Germany winning the coveted trophy but for the world’s biggest sportswear giants, there was another battle entirely. Nike, Adidas, PUMA, MIZUNO and WARRIOR were all at loggerheads as they contested for a slice of the greatness.
According to Eurominotor International, the global sportswear market, which grew by more than 7.5 percent in 2012, is valued at an excess of $244 billion with the US market, alone, valued at more than $80 billion. Given the figures, it is no surprise that the World Cup- the biggest sporting event in the world- became the ultimate platform for a battle of supremacy.

With various ambassadors of the World Cup, we can attempt to measure how well these multi-billion dollar companies did in Brazil, strictly in relation to our African superstars.
In total, Africa scored 19 goals at Brazil 2014 with Algeria being the highest scoring team and Cameroon being the lowest scoring.
Let’s break it down with regard to sportswear giants.
Nike provided Africa with the most goals at the tournament as Gervinho (2), Peter Odemwingie (1), Ahmed Musa (2), Yacine Brahimi (1) all bagged goals whilst wearing Nike’s Superfly IV boots which are priced at $394 and were also worn by stars such as Chile’s Alexis Sanchez and Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri.
Algeria’s goal-hero Islam Slimani had Nike’s Hypervenom boots to thank for the precision of his two goals (even though he scored one with his head!) at Brazil 2014. The sleek pair cost $224 on the retail market and was also on hand to help Germany’s Miroslav Klose set the new record of the most goals ever at a FIFA World Cup. Also from Algeria, Abdelmoumene Djabou scored two goals with Nike’s Magista Obra range which go for a tidy sum of $279.
Still with Nike, Ivory Coast’s Wilfried Bony set a curious record of being the only African to score wearing two different boot models as he notched a goal apiece with the Nike Vapour X and Nike Vapour 9, priced at $199 and $225 respectively. Finally, Ghana’s Andre Ayew notched his two goals with Nike’s Tiempo Legend V boots which retail at $257.
Over to Adidas, the German sportswear giants who also sponsor the African champions, Super Eagles of Nigeria, did not have a tournament as impressive as Nike’s. Wearing Adizero boots also worn by Robin van Persie, Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez, Algeria’s Sofiane Feghouli notched a single goal. The Adizero boots are retailed at $248. Adidas’ only other goal by Africa was scored by Cameroon’s Joel Matip against Brazil with Adidas Predator Instinct models which are available at $299.
PUMA also came to the party and even registered more goals than their fellow Germans, Adidas with Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan (2) and Algeria’s Rafik Halliche (1) scoring with PUMA’s Evopower 1 boots which retail at $265. Regardless of their poor goals returns, PUMA had another excellent ace to turn marketing tides in their favour. The German sportswear company had kit sponsorship deals with FOUR of the five African teams at the World as they provided kits for Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and the remarkable Algerians.
In total, Nike provided 74 percent of Africa’s goals, PUMA chipped in with 16 percent and Adidas ranked lowest with only 10 percent. Germany may have won the World Cup, but in the off-pitch battles of the kit manufacturers, Nike emerged victors of Africa.