After years of being on the outside and staging ‘ambush’ marketing around the Olympic Games, Nike have finally come into the IOC partner programme as a supplier of official attire.  The deal runs from the next winter Olympics in Sochi in Russia in 2014 through to Rio two years later.
They are replacing Japanese company Mizuno who ended their relationship with the IOC on August 31st and were revealed last week as the fifth official partner of the increasingly strong looking bid from Tokyo to host the 2020 games.  Istanbul and Madrid are the others in contention, either of which would be a closer and better venue for Irish athletes and fans but Tokyo are very much in the driving seat.
Nike have already supplied many of the teams so the familiar swoosh has always been evident at the games, especially through being worn by the US team.
Clothing has always been a sensitive subject around sport, never more so than when a row erupted this summer over the fact that US team blazers made by Ralph Lauren were manufactured in China.  A diplomatic row broke out with one US politician fanning the metaphorical flames by suggesting the gear should be piled up and burned.
Ralph Lauren was forced into a statement  that it would ‘lead the conversation with government’ about increasing manufacturing in the US and committed the ‘off piste’ kit for competitors at the next Winter Games would be made in the USA.
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