La Real “disappointed” with Nike

03/12/2013
Reports from the Basque Country suggest that one of the most prominent Basque football clubs is “disappointed” at the way a three-year kit agreement with sports brand Nike has gone, leading to a decision to sign a new deal with rival brand adidas.

San Sebastián-based La Real Sociedad will wear adidas kit from the start of next season, beginning in the autumn of 2014. Local reports say the club, which qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions’ League this season, “expected more” from Nike.

The new agreement with adidas has sparked hopes that the club can recreate its most successful era. When its best ever team won two league titles in the early 1980s, La Real wore adidas.

Its longest ever kit agreement was, ironically, with a much smaller local sports brand, Astore. It wore Astore shirts between 1994 and 2011.