Aston Villa have struck a major deal with Adidas, one of world football’s two biggest sportswear brands, to take over as their kit manufacturer from Castore next season.
The deal was overseen by the club’s billionaire Egyptian owner Nassef Sawiris, who owns around seven per cent of the German company. Adidas has kit deals with some of the biggest clubs in the world including Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
The Adidas deal is understood to be a long-term agreement worth multi-millions of pounds for the men’s and women’s teams and the academy.
Sawiris, 62, who was the driving force in the appointment of manager Unai Emery, was eager that the club had a blue-chip manufacturer to reflect the ambitions he has for Villa. Emery’s arrival in October 2022 has proved transformative. The club are currently second in the Premier League, and in the last 16 of the Uefa Europa Conference League with ambitions to be in the Champions League next season.
The club’s new president of business operations Chris Heck was also involved centrally in the negotiations to complete the Adidas deal which will see Villa’s Castore agreement come to an end.
Telegraph Sport revealed in September that Villa were looking at an amicable way out of their deal with current shirt manufacturer Castore, the British kit supplier, at the end of this season. While that was always a possibility given the ambition of the club, Castore’s position was not helped by complaints from players in the men’s and women’s teams about the “wet-look” nature of the shirts. The shirts appeared saturated and clingy once players started perspiring.
Last month, Telegraph Sport also revealed Villa took delivery of new shirts from Castore which the manufacturer hoped would not have the same saturation issue. It has been less prevalent as the weather has grown colder.
The company also currently supplies the kit for Newcastle United who announced in September that they would also be switching to Adidas for the 2024-2025 season.
Like all commercial agreements, it will be subject to the Premier League’s related-party transaction approval process. No issues are anticipated. Adidas supply four Premier League kits – United, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Fulham.
Vila have partnered with just about every kit manufacturer past and present at different periods in their history, including Nike, Kappa, Under Armour, Macron, Diadora, Reebok, Asics, Umbro and Hummel – but never before Adidas. Villa declined to comment.
Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
