Team Sports: Football, basketball, rugby and beyond
From boots and balls to fan merchandise, team sports are where sporting goods brands compete for global visibility. SGI Europe tracks the major partnerships and sponsorships linking brands and teams, product launches, licensing, participation trends, and the commercial dynamics shaping the world’s biggest team sports.
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Football | Basketball | Rugby | Brand Partnerships and Sponsorship | Licensing and Merchandise | Participation Data
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Basketball State of Play 2026
Basketball is where participation, fandom, footwear and fashion reinforce one another. 610 million players. 3.3 billion fans.
On enters football with Mbappé
On names Thierry Henry Director of Football and expands Sydney Schertenleib’s role as it enters team sports for the first time.
Udinese Calcio pilots UEFA sustainability framework
A Serie A club is using UEFA’s sustainability manual and emissions calculator to show concrete results, not just plans.
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Brooks named Premier League’s Palace footwear partner
The multi-year deal puts Brooks branding on Crystal Palace’s training and matchday apparel, plus displays at Selhurst Park.
APAC football fandom is massive. Merch sales are not.
The fandom is real. The conversion model most European clubs use in APAC is not built for the region.
Nike sponsors London City Lionesses in landmark deal
The WSL’s only fully independent club lands a Nike deal its owner calls women’s football’s biggest yet.
Intersport’s WC summer campaign lifts jersey sales 73%
The retail cooperative’s Clubhouses in Berlin, Paris and Istanbul drew more than 1 million visitors during its FIFA World Cup summer campaign.
New Wave Group to acquire Uhlsport GmbH
The all-share deal covers Uhlsport and Kempa, adds football and handball gear to Craft Sportswear’s 5,000-club network.
Cleat startup Caddix adds new athlete investor
Ja’Kobi Lane, the Ravens rookie, turned down paid deals from Nike and adidas to buy in instead.
Jordan Brand signs London Lions to multi-year kit deal
The deal lands as London Lions builds commercial infrastructure under new CEO Steve Devereux, appointed in July to drive growth.
Kickz names basketball retail veteran general manager
Kickz names Marijn van Dommelen general manager | SGIE
PREMIUM: STATE OF PLAY 2026
Basketball State of Play 2026
Basketball is where participation, fandom, footwear and fashion reinforce one another. 610 million players. 3.3 billion fans.
Rugby State of Play 2026
Rugby’s recovery is led by pre-teens and women. Brands still targeting adult club rugby are on the wrong side of the demand curve.
Women’s Football: The 2026 State of Play
196 million fans. €500m revenue. 75% of clubs without a kit sponsor. The white space in women’s football is larger than the industry thinks.
Basketball, global, 2023
The gap between players and fans is where the opportunity sits
610M
Regular players worldwide
3.3B
Fans worldwide
+6%
growth in global fan interest, 2019–2023 — even as the player base stays comparatively flat
Source: FIBA, confirmed by the Global Sports Barometer (CSM Media Research–KantarSport Asia), 2023; fan-interest growth from Nielsen research commissioned by FIBA.
Basketball State of Play 2026
Basketball is where participation, fandom, footwear and fashion reinforce one another. 610 million players. 3.3 billion fans.
Nike gives Caitlin Clark her own signature shoe
The Caitlin 1 arrives with an 18-piece apparel line as Nike defends its lead in women’s basketball footwear.
Jordan Brand signs London Lions to multi-year kit deal
The deal lands as London Lions builds commercial infrastructure under new CEO Steve Devereux, appointed in July to drive growth.
Kickz names basketball retail veteran general manager
Kickz names Marijn van Dommelen general manager | SGIE
Asian brands build global rosters, one deal at a time
From Curry to Jokic, Irving, Navarro and Raducanu, Anta, Li-Ning, 361, Uniqlo and Asics build rosters on three continents.
Under Armour loses WNBA footwear supplier status
Under Armour loses WNBA authorized supplier status for 2026, leaving players to tape over logos or compete in unbranded shoes.
Japan and France confirmed as FIBA World Cup hosts 2030, 2031
Tokyo stages the 2030 Women’s World Cup on the JBA’s centenary; Paris crowns France’s debut as Men’s World Cup host in 2031.
FanDuel Sports Network to wind down
Main Street Sports Group is preparing to close, leaving 13 NBA and seven NHL teams to rebuild local broadcast revenue from near zero.
Rugby participation, 2023
Women's rugby is growing faster than men's at every level
+26%
Male total participation growth
+37%
Female total participation growth
+38%
Adult female registered players
+53%
Female participants overall
(incl. casual & school)
(incl. casual & school)
~2m
female rugby players globally in 2024 — roughly 25% of all registered participants worldwide
Source: World Rugby, Global Participation Report 2023 / Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Report, February 2026.
Ultimate Sevens’ first ad won’t say what the sport is
Rugby sevens championship Ultimate Sevens never says what it is – only what it isn’t.
adidas revives black collar for All Blacks tour kit
A body-mapped jersey, a heritage polo, and a new four-year fixture with South Africa.
Canterbury’s youngest boot yet targets rugby’s biggest segment
Canterbury’s new range leads with elite speed tech, but its most commercially telling launch is aimed at ten-year-olds
Rugby State of Play 2026
Rugby’s recovery is led by pre-teens and women. Brands still targeting adult club rugby are on the wrong side of the demand curve.
Jens Aage Skare Nielsen confirmed as Rugby Europe CEO
Eight months in, the interim CEO gets the permanent job
Why Ultimate Sevens built its tech stack before its first match
Outsourcing the entire digital layer on day one reflects how new sports properties now compete for audiences and investors
Reebok kit partner for Ultimate Sevens rugby series
The US brand becomes the first company to join Ultimate Sevens’ founding commercial program, ahead of the competition’s September launch in Europe.
Worldclass team but no sponsor
One of Australia’s most decorated sporting teams is without a sponsor but has unveiled a bold solution.
Women's sports revenue, 2024 vs 2025 (projected)
Basketball is set to overtake football as the top-earning women's sport
Share of total women's sports revenue, by sport
2024
2025 (projected)
Soccer / football
39%
35%
Basketball
38%
44%
Other
23%
21%
+6pp
basketball's projected share gain in 2025, while football's share falls 4 points — a lead change within the women's sports revenue mix
Source: Deloitte, "Beyond the Billion-Dollar Barrier: Charting the Next Phase of Growth," 2025. 2025 figures are Deloitte projections.
On enters football with Mbappé
On names Thierry Henry Director of Football and expands Sydney Schertenleib’s role as it enters team sports for the first time.
Udinese Calcio pilots UEFA sustainability framework
A Serie A club is using UEFA’s sustainability manual and emissions calculator to show concrete results, not just plans.
Brooks named Premier League’s Palace footwear partner
The multi-year deal puts Brooks branding on Crystal Palace’s training and matchday apparel, plus displays at Selhurst Park.
APAC football fandom is massive. Merch sales are not.
The fandom is real. The conversion model most European clubs use in APAC is not built for the region.
Nike sponsors London City Lionesses in landmark deal
The WSL’s only fully independent club lands a Nike deal its owner calls women’s football’s biggest yet.
Intersport’s WC summer campaign lifts jersey sales 73%
The retail cooperative’s Clubhouses in Berlin, Paris and Istanbul drew more than 1 million visitors during its FIFA World Cup summer campaign.
New Wave Group to acquire Uhlsport GmbH
The all-share deal covers Uhlsport and Kempa, adds football and handball gear to Craft Sportswear’s 5,000-club network.
Cleat startup Caddix adds new athlete investor
Ja’Kobi Lane, the Ravens rookie, turned down paid deals from Nike and adidas to buy in instead.
US: sporting goods emerge as World Cup retail winner
Two months later, adidas, Fanatics and Foot Locker led a US sporting goods surge that outpaced every retail category.
Intersport’s WC summer campaign lifts jersey sales 73%
The retail cooperative’s Clubhouses in Berlin, Paris and Istanbul drew more than 1 million visitors during its FIFA World Cup summer campaign.
Puma posts smaller loss as turnaround strategy takes shape
Inventory is down 15.3 percent and free cash flow more than tripled, but PUMA does not expect a full recovery before 2027.
adidas CEO apologizes for World Cup pink boot pileup
Bjorn Gulden calls the fluorescent pink boot takeover an accident nobody wanted.
World Cup jersey boom is real, but will it last?
adidas confirmed record sales. Route and Syndigo say fulfillment, returns and product data decide if it holds
Nike ripped up the script. It didn’t go as planned.
Nike Football boss Camilo Andrade defends the brand’s execution even as its script for the final didn’t hold.
adidas told Bloomberg it won the World Cup
Spain and Argentina wore its kits in the final, and adidas is happy to let us know how much it sold.
Messi and Adidas: 20 Years to El Último Tango
As Argentina returns to the World Cup final, Adidas and Messi celebrate a partnership two decades in the making.
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