Puma has signed a big five-year contract as official supplier of the famous Arsenal football team in the U.K. to assert its position as the third-largest supplier of football products and to back up its credibility as a sports brand. The financial conditions were not disclosed, but reports indicate that the deal is worth more than £30 million (€36.2m-$49.0m) a year. Puma said it is the biggest such contract for itself and for Arsenal.

Puma will take the place of Nike after 20 years of partnership next July, adding to other important properties such as the Italian football team, Newcastle United, Cardiff City, Borussia Dortmund and individual football players such as Sergio Aguero, Cesc Fàbregas, Mario Balotelli and Yaya Touré.

The deal comes at a time when Nike has stopped its discussions with Manchester United about a renegotiation of their expensive contract, which is set to expire next year. ManUnited has been overtaken by Bayern München as the third-largest European football club in terms of income after Real Madrid and Barcelona, according to Deloitte's annual Money League. ManUnited is now followed by Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Nevertheless, ManUnited has reportedly asked Nike to raise its annual sponsorship fees by more than 50 percent to about £60 million (€129.3m-$99.5m). The Swoosh still has a right to match any other offer that may be made by one of its rivals. Adidas and Warrior Sports, the team sports brand of New Balance, are said to be likely opponents. Nike took the place of Umbro as sponsor of Manchester City two years ago. On the other hand, it was revealed last week that Umbro, which has been sold by Nike to Iconix, is taking over from the Swoosh as the official supplier of another major British team, Everton, for a five-year term starting in June. Umbro had already been the club's sponsor until 2009.

On the same day as Puma announced its deal with Arsenal, Nike reported an agreement with the South African Football Association (SAFA) to develop and supply football kits for the men's and women's South African national football teams, taking over from Puma. The five-year partnership, which began on Feb. 1, includes supplying performance and training kits and match balls to all nine of SAFA's national football teams at every level, including the men's senior and women's senior teams, men's under-23, men's and women's under-20, men's and women's under-17, men's indoor football and men's beach football.

South Africa did not qualify for participation in the Fifa World Cup starting in Brazil next June, but Nike will provide a limited-edition kit for the men's senior national team for their international friendly match against Brazil in Johannesburg on March 5, and for all senior national teams competing until December 2014. The 2015-2016 kit will be unveiled in November, while a range of supporter-wear will be available from early January in 2015.

The partnership also provides SAFA with access to the Nike Football Training Center in Soweto, Johannesburg. Along with South Africa, Nike's portfolio of national federation sponsorships includes Brazil, England, France, South Korea, the Netherlands, Portugal, the U.S. and Zambia.

Puma has also been replaced by Canterbury as the new official kit supplier of the Irish Rugby Football Union, starting next September. The 10-year contract is worth €20 million according to The Irish Times. It covers the next two Rugby World Cups.

Canterbury, which is now a property of JD Sports Fashion, had been the sponsor of the Irish national team until Puma took over the role with the 2009/10 season for an eight-year term, which has thus been cut short. Canterbury is already the sponsor of the English, Russian, Spanish, Japanese and U.S. rugby teams.

Meanwhile, Puma has signed a sponsorship contract with a rather prominent Malaysian football club, Pahang, which is said to be worth $300,000 a year. The Cat is said to be likely to be more selective in its sponsorship of African football clubs in the future.