President Bernd Neuendorf was “stunned”, his deputy Hans-Joachim Watzke shot back sharply – the DFB leadership has massively defended itself against criticism of the hotly debated change of supplier from politicians.
“I was extremely annoyed by many comments from politicians who suddenly discovered patriotism for themselves. There are people who said five years ago: ‘Love for the fatherland pisses me off’ and are now suddenly discovering patriotism,” said Watzke on Sky.
Nike will take over the DFB equipment from Adidas in 2027
From 2027, the DFB will be equipped by the US giant Nike for at least eight years and, according to media reports, will receive around 100 million euros annually. The long-time partner adidas had allegedly offered almost half. Numerous politicians across party lines sharply criticized the association for the change.
Neuendorf said on ZDF before the international match in France that he was partly “stunned” by the comments. Especially because these were made “without knowledge of the facts and background”. Watzke only praised Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “The only sensible thing I read was the Chancellor’s sentence: That this is the association’s business. He really hit the spot.”
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Given the sums, Neuendorf said the “decision was almost taken away from the DFB”. It’s about “not damaging the association. We would have done that if we hadn’t accepted the offer.” According to Watzke, the difference between the offers was “so gigantic that there was simply no other solution. If you write things out, then at some point someone will be angry.”
Habeck: “Sure, always happy to talk”
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has meanwhile shown himself open to a conversation with Neuendorf. “First of all, big congratulations on the national team’s victory yesterday. Joy of playing, commitment and passion – I’m looking forward to the European Championships,” said the Green politician on Sunday after the DFB team’s 2-0 win in France the evening before. “And of course, we always like to talk – then maybe also about sport, tradition and capital and also about promoting youth sports.”
Habeck said about the Nike deal that he would have “wanted a bit more local patriotism” from the DFB.