Sports News of Sunday, 6 June 2021

Source: ghanasportsonline.com

GFA courting Puma anger after Black Stars wear Nike and Adidas kits to train

Black Stars players training in Cape Coast Black Stars players training in Cape Coast

German sports wear Puma could take action against the Ghana Football Association for breach of contract after the association allowed Black Stars players and technical team members to openly mark products of competing brands – Nike and Adidas at training.

PUMA are in direct competition with Nike and Adidas as the three firms all operate within the same market environment and have a running contract with the Ghana FA which bars all Ghana national teams from openly displaying any brands apart from PUMA brands.

The German headquartered company regard Ghana’s Black Stars as one of the most attractive brands within the African continent thus believe their association with Ghana could help them strengthen and broaden their market span in Africa but the action from the Ghana FA could be treated as a huge betrayal to PUMA who have been Ghana’s official kits sponsors since 2006.

The Ghana Football Association has a running contract with PUMA – a German multinational corporation that specializes in sports wears and is responsible for kitting all of Ghana’s national teams. The company pays huge some of money to the GFA for the Ghana national teams to wear PUMA kits.

But, some players and technical team members of the Ghanaian senior national team have been captured on camera wearing different kits brands to train during training sessions ahead of the team’s trip to North Africa to play Morocco in an international friendly.

The Ghana national team is kitted by global brand PUMA who supply training kits as well as matchday jerseys and replicas to the team as well as all other Ghana national teams. But, images that have found its way to social media have shown players and technical team members giving free mileage to PUMA’s competing brands like NIKE and ADIDAS.

PUMA will not be too impressed with the conduct of operations of the Black Stars players and technical team members over the images that have gained prominence on social media.

Players like Kwame Opoku, Daniel Amartey, Samuel Owusu, Andy Kyere Yiadom as well as physical trainer Jamie Lawrence were all spotted wearing either ADIDAS or NIKE stockings during training sessions.