Nike will continue to make England’s kits until 2030 after the Football Association announced a new 12-year contract on Tuesday (Dec 13) reported to be worth £400 million (US$507.3 million).

The new deal, which will see all of England’s 24 representative football teams clad in Nike kits, will benefit both grassroots and women’s football in the country, the FA said.

Neither the FA nor American sportswear giant Nike confirmed the value of the deal, but the £400 million figure was widely cited by British media.

“The FA is a not-for-profit organisation and this new deal, effective from August 2018, will represent a significant investment across English football and further support grassroots initiatives and the growth of the women’s game throughout the country,” said the FA in a statement.

Nike took over the England contract from British firm Umbro, which was briefly a Nike subsidiary, in 2013.

The timing of the announcement is a welcome piece of good news for the FA after a bruising year that saw England humiliated by minnows Iceland at Euro 2016.

Roy Hodgson stepped down as manager after the game and his successor Sam Allardyce lasted just one game in charge after making injudicious remarks to undercover journalists.

The recent slew of allegations about sexual abuse in English football from decades ago has prompted them to open a review into whether the FA was aware of the claims at the time.

On Monday, meanwhile, five former senior FA officials demanded the British Government reform an “out of balance” organisation filled with “elderly white men”.

Source AFP