Following the news that the IOC has recommended banning all Russian and Belarusian athletes and teams following the invasion of Ukraine,

Conrad Wiacek, Head of Sport Analysis at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“Nike, adidas and PUMA will find it hard to resist pressure to sever ties with Russian sporting organisations for whom they supply kits in light of the IOC’s recommendation to effectively sever all ties with Russia and Belarus. With Russia increasingly isolated on the world’s sporting stage, the IOC has taken the unprecedented step to recommend that International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions. This immediately puts over $30 million of kit supply deals in jeopardy, with adidas and Nike particularly exposed.

“Nike’s deals with Zenit St Petersburg and Spartak Moscow, worth an estimated $8.5 million and adidas’ $10 million deal with the Russian Football Federation to supply the teams with kit are the largest likely casualties, but according GlobalData’s latest report; ‘Soccer Kit Supplier across Major European Leagues, 2021 Update, six sporting goods manufacturers have committed close to $30 million to the Russian market. In addition to the loss of top tier sponsorships like Gazprom’s deal with UEFA and German club Schalke 04 which was officially terminated this morning, the financial repercussions for Russian sport is likely to be felt long after this crisis has abated.”