The Dutch FA (KNVB) said that it was reviewing its '96 national team sponsorship deal with Nike "after corruption allegations by U.S. investigators against a U.S. sportswear company with details matching a Nike deal in Brazil," according to Thomas Escritt of REUTERS. The FBI said that "it had found evidence of millions of dollars in bribes paid for a 1996 sponsorship deal of Brazil's national team." Nike said that "it is cooperating with the investigation and that the indictment does not accuse the company of crimes." KNVB spokesperson Chris van Nijnatten said that "in-house lawyers would review documents relating to a two decade-old deal, under which Nike became the official training sponsor of the Dutch national team in 1996." Nike "did not immediately respond to a request for a comment." Van Nijnatten "declined to disclose the size of the contract." Nike "still sponsors the national team with the deal having been renewed twice," most recently in '14 for 12 years. The KNVB said that the renewals "are not under investigation." Van Nijnatten said, "We are doing this because so much is happening at the moment. There is no lack of confidence. Nike is not a suspect. Investigating this is a matter of professionalism" (REUTERS, 6/10).
