American brand Nike boasts 24 active deals across the 10 biggest European soccer leagues for the 2023-24 season. The number puts it on par with adidas as the most prominent brand in the market, while both brands are five deals ahead of Puma, which is the next most visible brand on the continent. Not much separates the two biggest sports clothing brands regarding annual spend too, with Nike edging its German rival by just over $2 million, with a combined spend of $469.96 million this season, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Property Profile of Major European Soccer Kit Suppliers 2023-24’, highlights all active kit supplier deals that are present in each of the topflight leagues in England, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Scotland, Belgium and Turkey.

Jake Kemp, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Nike and adidas are the biggest brands in the market, and almost every kit partnership with the biggest clubs is linked to either of these two brands. European soccer is a huge market and one of the most lucrative for both manufacturers, building links to huge fan bases across not only Europe but the world. No sport has more global appeal than soccer, and European domestic competitions are the most popular sports properties, and as such, it behoves their businesses to be at the heart of what happens here.”

In the aforementioned GlobalData’s report, Nike and adidas are shown to be contributing some 68.13% of the total combined spend across the 10 big European leagues.

Kemp continues: “Not only do Nike and adidas sign deals in volume, but part of the strategy is to build these links to the biggest clubs. The biggest deals with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester United cost serious amounts of money, but the global fanbase of these teams offers them unrivalled reach. No other brand in the market can compete on the same level; Puma has been the nearest challenger for a few years but despite a few major partnerships and an annual increase in visibility across the leagues of four deals, it remains a distant third in the market.”

Castore has become the biggest disruptor in the market in recent seasons as it branches into European soccer to build brand awareness. The British brand now boasts 11 deals, which are well spread throughout Europe, and sits as the fourth biggest spending brand in the market. The brand was founded as a business in mid-2015 and first ventured into mainstream soccer kit deals with Rangers ahead of the 2020-21 season.

Kemp concludes: “Castore has invested and grown in the market at an accelerated rate and despite a few recently terminated deals, this appears to be a strategy they will stick with for the immediate future as it continues to spread its name globally.”