PUMA are on a tear in 2024, not only creating epic products with strong partners, but also scoring golds and signing major deals with big sports teams. The latest big deal is with the Portuguese Football Federation, which has seen an almost three-decade long partnership with Nike come to an end.
‘Signing a top-tier national team was one of our priorities in football and I am very excited to welcome a team as popular as Portugal to the PUMA Family,’ said PUMA CEO Arne Freundt in a press release. ‘Given the large number of fans all over the world and the great potential of the next generation of this squad, we are looking forward to the upcoming big tournaments such as the 2026 World Cup.’
Portugal’s national football team is one of the biggest in the world, so the partnership with the Christiano Ronaldo-led team is a huge move for the Big Cat. While the length of the partnership is currently unknown, the new deal will kick off in 2025 and has been described as a ‘long-term agreement’. Next year, PUMA will equip the male and female national teams in kits, as well as futsal, beach football and E-Sports teams.
This won’t be the first time PUMA has tangled with Portugal’s national team, as back in the 1960s they were a partner of Portuguese footballer Eusébio. He was also known as ‘O Rei’ which translates to ‘The King’, and was the inspiration behind the legendary PUMA King football boot.
‘We were attracted to PUMA because of the way in which they engage with the fans and tell the unique story of every team they work with’ said Fernando Gomes, president of the FPF. ‘We look forward to creating an exciting range of products with them which will resonate with our large fan base all over the world.’
PUMA have said that new products and further direction for the partnership will be available in early 2025.
Look back at PUMA's 2024 highlights here.