Principles Over Money

The German FA have turned down the chance of swapping the famous three stripes on their kit for a Swoosh after the country's FA (DFB) said it would stick with Adidas as its kit provider and reject a 500 million euros offer from Nike. German firm Adidas has sponsored the national team since it won the first of its three World Cups in 1954. Nike had offered 500 million euros ($678.4 million) to kit out the national team for eight years, an offer worth about six times more than the old Adidas deal.

"German football has lost a great chance," a Nike spokesman in Germany said.

Well actually they haven't lost a great chance, what they've done is hold onto something that is part of the German football teams identity rather than sell out for the big bucks of Team America.

Football Associations and Premiership Clubs are forever holding their hands out for more money in the style of poor old Oliver Twist demanding more food whilst taking their eyes of the traditions and aspects of the game that make it so attractive in the first place.

A few years ago AFC Bournemouth were the only team in the Football League not to have a sponsors name on their shirts, this wasn't because of a lack of offers but because they hadn't received any offers from local companies. The club felt that having been saved by their own supporters from extinction they should repay that faith by turning down lucrative offers from national companies who had little interest in the club itself. Eventually a local tyre retailer came forward and their name appeared on the shirt.

I'm glad to see that the DFB has put more than fifty years of history first and retained the three stripes which will forever be associated with Adidas and German football.