Under Armour wants to conquer all sports and the latest sport on its list, soccer, is slowly falling under the Under Armour umbrella. Just a few days ago UA partnered with the NASL to provide the official ball of the league. Now, Under Armour has announced a multi-year partnership with the New York Cosmos.
This is Under Armour’s first professional soccer team sponsorship in the United States; UA has already conquered soccer clubs abroad like Tottenham Hotspur F.C., São Paulo FC, Colo-Colo and Cruz Azul. The Under Armour and New York Cosmos deal will include sponsorship, the design and development of new kits for the club, and distribution in New York State and globally.
According to ThisIsCosmosCountry.com, Nike was “not living up to [its] side of the deal with the New York Cosmos.” Apparently, the apparel wasn’t great and at Niketown on 57th street (in New York, a huge store) a customer could buy all types of international club jerseys but zero New York Cosmos gear. Thus, The New York Cosmos signed wiht Nike’s most ferocious competitor.
Make sure to let me know what you think about UA’s headway into soccer in the comments below. Here’s all the information from ThisIsCosmosCountry:
“We are very excited about this new alliance with Under Armour,” said New York Cosmos Chief Operating Officer, Erik Stover. “We share many of the same brand values, includint ambition and innovation. Under Armour is one of the fastest growing performance brands in the world and we can’t wait to share our new kit with our fans,” he added.
Additional apparel like t-shirts and sweatshirts are also expected as part of the deal.
Since 2013, the Cosmos have worn the Nike white (home) and green (away) kits. Their quality have often been called into question by many of the supporters compared to other kits manufactured by Nike and kits from other brands worn around the league. The team also unveiled their blue third kit at the 5 Points fundraiser before the start of the season.
The Cosmos now join clubs like Tottenham Hotspurs FC of England, São Paulo FC of Brazil, and Cruz Azul of Mexico as clients of Under Armour.
“We are pleased to launch our partnership with the New York Cosmos,” said Peter Murray, VP Global Brand and Sports Marketing, Under Armour. “The team is a fantastic partner as we continue to help grow both the sport and our brand’s footprint here in the United States. As the reigning NASL champions, the New York Cosmos have a big season ahead and we’re excited to be part of that journey.
The kits will be unveiled on Wednesday, March 16 at the Under Armour Brand House in Manhattan. According to tweets from the club, fans will be involved in the kit launch.
The announcement follows the one the league made a short time ago where all clubs would switch to Under Armour Desafio balls for games and practice for the 2016 season.
This is incredible. In one move, they’ve gotten rid of Nike, who rarely did the club any justice and have become the biggest (and only) pro US soccer client to Under Armour, making them an instant priority. With ambitions of expanding in the US soccer market, I think we can expect them to go all out for the Cosmos. The deal is set to create more apparel for the fans, something they had been clamoring for, and should change the current kit, lacking in quality to something worth wearing by the club. The last bit of it is the distribution of the kit, which this deal can hopefully make easier.
Not bad, they also picked up a couple more premier teams and might get some German teams
UA is making real progress in soccer