Nike lost the battle against German sport manufacturers Adidas and Puma
Out of the 32 national teams participating, German brands provide 18 with kits, while Nike secured 10 contracts.
Besides the big giants, there are four national teams who don't go with the flow:
Belgium (Burrda of Switzerland)
Costa Rica (Lotto of Italy)
Ecuador (Marathon of Ecuador)
Honduras (Joma of Spain)
Now let's see the standings in different continents:
Africa
Recent fears about Chinese expansion in Africa proved to be lacking any solid grounds since all 5 African teams are using German gears, more exactly Puma enjoys a striking popularity by sponsoring four teams, Nigeria is the only exception having been entered into contract with representatives of the late Adi Dassler.
Americas
Latin America is not the backyard of the US anymore as data show. Brazil is the only ally taking up the fight in Nike kit. Ecuador chose to do it on its own way supported by domestic manufacturer Marathon. Spain sneaked back to the continent represented by Joma, while Costa Rica successes are fueled by Italy's Lotto.
At least German brands don't have an overall victory on the continent, since they only sponsor 50% of the kits.
Asia
Four nations are representing the continent (don't forget that the Aussies are also Asians at soccer), Nike wins (South Korea and Australia) followed by Adidas (Japan) and Uhlsport (Iran). Can anyone tell us how Germany's Uhlsport made its way to the Gulf?
Europe
Here there is a tie between US and German brands, however Nike finishes first before Adidas (4 teams) and Puma (2 teams). The yanks in Beaverton can trust the old friends in England, plus Holland, Portugal, France, Croatia and Greece.
What we don't understand is why on earth the Swiss national team is sponsored by Puma while Belgium is using stuff provided by Switzerland's Burrda. Come on Switzerland, get some guts and follow Ecuador's example to support domestic manufacturers!
(Has Britain's Umbro died already?)
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