The Nike-Adidas World Cup Battle Heats Up
Adidas went early, but Nike's product and culture marketing engine is kicking into gear as the tournament approaches. Puma's initial 2026 kits leave a lot to be desired.
Hi everyone, welcome back to SportsVerse, my twice-weekly newsletter that tells stories you can’t find anywhere else about the intersection of sports, fashion, business, and culture.
First, some admin. I’m going to be taking some much needed time off towards the end of this year. It means that there are just two final SportsVerse newsletters you’ll receive in 2025 after this one, coming this Thursday (a fun collab is planned) and next Tuesday. After that, I’ll be reflecting on a crazy year that saw this newsletter go from 0 to nearly 6000 subscribers and me relocate from London to New York somewhere in the middle of it all. I’ll also be doing anything but thinking about the intersection of sports and fashion to make sure I enter 2026 with a fresh perspective and renewed energy.
Ok, back to business.
We know that Adidas went early with its initial World Cup product unveiling back in October. So much of what I previewed back then is still under embargo, but trust me when I say it was that day that I realised this was going to be fashion’s biggest World Cup ever — in exactly the same way that the Paris Olympics in 2024 was a major tipping point for the role fashion played in sports more broadly.
Back in 2022, when I reported on fashion and sportswear brands’ plans for the Qatar World Cup, it was a very different situation altogether. There was a lot of talk (though none of it materialised) about certain big names boycotting the tournament due to concerns over the country’s human rights record. Brands, as a result, were reticent to make too big a splash. It was also just before fashion and sports had truly begun to collide in the same way, meaning there was far less appetite for the plethora of collaborations, special projects and unique kit designs we are about to see for the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
As I’ve discussed before, this World Cup sets up a fascinating sub-plot battle between the sportswear category’s two largest players. Nike, looking to find its footing once again and assert its dominance on home soil, desperately needs its showing at this tournament to be a success. Adidas, which has a stronger historical presence in the sport (both in football in general, but also owing to its official sponsorship of the World Cup), desperately wants to come out on top to score a major win in Nike’s backyard and assert its own growing cultural dominance and sales growth in North America.
In recent days, Nike has begun to give the market hints as to the significance of its investment in its World Cup push. Late last week, the brand unveiled its “Hollywood Keepers” drop, a collection of national federation goalkeeper jerseys inspired by the psychedelic designs of GK kits back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Though these specific jerseys themselves won’t be worn on the field next summer at the World Cup, Nike will unveil an on-field version of these kits, along with the rest of its national federation playing kits, closer to the tournament kick off itself.
I also got a glimpse at some of the Adidas World Cup goalkeeper kits, which haven’t been released yet — and let’s just say they are just as loud. Neither brand is entering this World Cup quietly. Adidas has created around 3,000 different products as part of its WC 2026 push, and I imagine Nike won’t be shy with its assortment either.
But beyond product, Nike is also investing heavily in its association with street soccer culture. At Art Basel in Miami over the weekend, the Swoosh put on the latest iteration of its Toma El Juego event series. It was a huge undertaking that would have been a serious financial investment from the brand, given the scale of the event itself, the talent flown in (it was hosted, just like last time, by Travis Scott — who clearly remains locked in with the Swoosh despite his Las Vegas indiscretion; other guests included Washington Spirit star Croix Bethune and Slaw, the in-demand UK-based Nigerian artists Nike collaborator).
To say Puma entered the chat would be generous. The brand (which I suppose has bigger fish to fry right now) released a very underwhelming set of 2026 kits for its national federations — which include the likes of Portugal and Switzerland — that looked like each was made from the same template, with very little originality or variation.
I found it to be a shame considering that Puma has such a long history in football, and is especially known for coming up with some of the quirkier national team kits in history, like the iconic sleeveless Cameroon kits of the early 2000s. I hope the brand surprises us with some heat as we get closer to the tournament.
That’s all for today, but I will be keeping a close eye on the sportswear brands — and fashion brands at large — as plans for next summer continue to be revealed.
That’s that for today, friends. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
See you next time,
DYM