Adidas, Nike and Puma dress more teams in the World Cup, but lose participation before 2022

Nike (), Adidas and Puma largely dominate the supply of sporting equipment for the teams that will compete in the 2026 World Cup. Under the expectation of a billion-dollar increase in shirt sales, the three main brands suffered, on the other hand, a dilution in their participation in uniforms in this edition caused by the increase in the number of participants.

The trio will have their brands stamped on 37 of the 48 national teams that take to the field from June onwards, equivalent to 77% of the total. The number represents a percentage drop compared to the 81% achieved by the sum of brands in the Qatar World Cup, in 2022, when only 32 countries competed in the tournament.

Champion among suppliers, Adidas developed the uniforms for 14 of the teams, twice as many as the last World Cup, including world champions Germany, Argentina and Spain. The tournament will be the end of an almost 80-year partnership between four-time champion Germany and the company of the same nationality, in a contract that yielded around 50 million euros (almost R$295 million) per year to the German team.

InfoMoney Planner: your finances under control

At the end of 2025, the company already recorded a 17% increase in inventories, reaching 5.832 billion euros, a reflection of Adidas’ planned growth in gross revenue with purchases related to the World Cup. Just last year, the company already recorded a 20% increase in revenue from apparel, driven by the team’s uniforms, the company’s annual financial statements in 2025 show.

Nike and Puma are closely following their competitor with 12 and 11 selections, respectively. The dilution of the participation of these three suppliers in the 2026 tournament did not mean a drop in the total number of teams sponsored by them. In fact, the addition of countries to the tournament based in the United States, Mexico and Canada increased their gross participation by 11 teams compared to the Qatar edition.

An analysis by RBC Capital Markets points out that competition could alone add US$1.3 billion in revenue to Nike. During the company’s last earnings call for the quarter ended in March, CEO Elliot Hill stated that product reservations by wholesale partners increased by 40% in relation to the 2022 World Cup.

“To ensure we deliver on our commitment to the market, we will renew more than 100 Nike Direct stores and 1,400 partner outlets around the world, and our marketing team is investing significantly to inspire football fans everywhere,” said Hill

Alone, Nike is responsible for the sports equipment of four of the eight teams that have already lifted the World Cup trophy: Brazil, France, Uruguay and England. , the North American company disburses US$ 100 million per year, in addition to variable funds. Even so, the company noted a drop in the number of teams compared to the last World Cup, when it had 13 representatives.

In its annual financial report, Puma does not make projections or disclose specific data on expectations for the World Cup. The brand does not sponsor any world champion, but provides materials for the promising Portugal team, as well as Egypt, Morocco and eight other countries. In 2022, the German supplier only had 6 participants.

More vacancies, new brands

In addition to Nike, Adidas and Puma, the only brands that were at the last World Cup, in 2022, and return for this edition are the Italian Kappa, with Tunisia, as well as Majid and Marathon, local suppliers from Iran and Ecuador. Eight others are newcomers or did not have representatives in Qatar.

Among the companies with the least representation, Spanish company Kelme is the only one to design the uniforms for more than one national team, with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Jordan. Founded 60 years ago, the company is also responsible for the uniforms of English club Watford and Espanyol, from La Liga, in club football.

Check out the suppliers of the other selections: