Adidas announced its "entry into esports” with a sponsorship of French esports organization Team Vitality, according to L’ÉQUIPE. The German brand announced that through its esports deal it became the “first sports equipment provider to invest in the French market” (
L’ÉQUIPE, 1/9). ESPORTS PRO's Mike Stubbs reported the deal will see adidas branding “appear on the Vitality merchandise and jerseys, and will see the two collaborate on events and other social activities.” Team Vitality Founder & Owner Nicolas Maurer said, “It’s a good deal, not our biggest. We’ll send players to adidas events, they’ll invite us to specific events too, and they’ll showcase our teams on their social networks. The goal of the deal is to do more than just clothes and branding.” Adidas has “typically stayed away” from the world of esports, despite the jersey market being “quite a good fit for them.” However, over the past month, adidas has sponsored both Vitality and North, the new esports organization from Danish Superliga side Copenhagen (
ESPORTS PRO, 1/9).
