Adidas to pay 50 million euros a year to extend deal with German football association

BERLIN - Adidas will pay 50 million euros (39 million pounds) a year to extend its sponsorship deal with the German football association (DFB), twice as much as it has paid so far, German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported. Adidas currently pays around 25 million euros a year to supply the world champions but faced competition from US rival Nike for the contract. Sport Bild reported last week that the renewed contract could cost Adidas 65-70 million euros a year. The new contract will run for four years from 2019, FAZ said in a report published on its website late on Sunday, less than the 10-year duration of the current contract. The paper said Adidas and the DFB would announce details of the deal at a news conference in Paris around midday on Monday. A battle between Adidas and Nike for dominance of the global football gear market has driven a steep rise in sponsorship payments to elite clubs, as well as stoking competition for deals with national teams. Adidas is kitting out nine of the 24 teams playing at the ongoing Euro 2016 European soccer championship, including reigning champions Spain as well as Germany. Nike has six teams, including host France and England, while smaller German brand Puma has five, including Italy. Neither Adidas nor the DFB were immediately available for comment. -rEUTERS