The U.S. Men’s National Team is on a tear at a home World Cup, and demand for red-white-and-blue jerseys has perhaps never been higher. For the first time, both Nike and Adidas are reaping the benefits.
Nike has been the official outfitter of U.S. Soccer since 1995. Adidas has been the official FIFA partner since 1970. For American soccer fans seeking to support the USMNT’s knockout-stage run—continuing Monday night in Seattle with a round of 16 match against Belgium—jersey options are available at both of the archrival outfitters, thanks to yin-and-yang product strategies.
For Nike, that has meant leveraging sales of its performance gear—official jerseys and soccer boots meant to be worn on the pitch. Before the start of this year’s World Cup, Nike said it sold 2.5 times more national team jerseys than it did in the lead-up to the 2022 tournament in Qatar—held in November and December due to the regional climate.
In fact, soccer gear was a rare bright spot in an otherwise mixed earnings report for Nike last week: Sales of performance sports products, which also includes running and training gear, rose about 5% for the three months ended in May, compared to the same period in 2025.
“Nike is using football’s biggest global stage not just to show up, but to sharpen our competitive position,” the company said in a statement, using the global term for soccer.
