Puma has announced the expansion of its partnership with global e-sports organization Gen.G. The previous agreement, signed in June 2020, included the production of a jersey for Gen.G’s winning PUBG and League of Legends teams, both based in Seoul, South Korea. The jerseys feature a design by Gen.G executive brand advisor and fashion designer Heron Preston. As part of the new agreement, the German sportswear company will now produce the official Gen.G jersey for the organization’s e-sports teams and creators worldwide, including Gen.G players of Valorant, a first-person hero shooter game, and creators in North America.
Earlier this year, Gen.G announced the opening of the application process for the second annual Gen.G Foundation Scholarship with Puma as a partner providing a scholarship focused on the development of student e-sports athletes. The Gen.G Foundation has committed $1 million over the next 10 years, which will focus on supporting women, students of color and low-income students enrolled in a U.S. university or college who are interested in pursuing careers in e-sports, gaming, entrepreneurship, journalism and content creation.
In addition to Gen.G, Puma also outfits four other e-sports teams, Cloud9, Futbolist, Order and x-com AGO. Regarding its involvement in e-sports, the company said, “At Puma, we strive to understand sports as a whole culture.” Puma has already underlined this by launching exclusive e-sports products, such as Puma Active Gaming Footwear.
The evolving e-sports community is apparently opening new business opportunities for sports brands: Puma competitors Nike, Champion, K-Swiss and Adidas are also active in the market for a few years, either launching specific products or partnering with professional gaming teams for apparel. On the weekend of July 25/26, a first e-sports fashion week was launched by the Esports Fashion Group on YouTube, featuring new apparel designs from H4X, We Are Nations, XSET and September Doves.
