FIFA Partner, Adidas, is busy with plans to leverage the World Cup. Its +10 campaign, launched in November last year, celebrates 'team spirit' and features some of the world's most celebrated football stars such as Michael Ballack, David Beckham, Raúl Gonzales, Kaká, Alessandro Nesta, Juan Román Riquelme and Zinédine Zidane. Its +Challenge is a global grassroots program which started with a tournament in Rio de Janeiro in January and has been followed by global focus tournaments as well as local initiatives in over 30 countries including 12 Asian markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
"Football is our passion and Adidas is the only authentic and innovative football brand. We understand the game and the psyche of the players out there better than anybody else," Adidas India managing director Andreas Gellner told Ashwin Pinto of Indian Television. In India, the company is "rolling out" the +10 campaign and +Challenge initiative across Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and Delhi. ESPN Star Sports, which will air the World Cup in India, is assisting Adidas for the event. "At each global tournament venue, India being one of them, 16 participating teams per age category (13 to 14 and 15 to 16) show their skills to get one of the 40 places for the global Adidas +Challenge final in Berlin, Germany from 1 to 4 July 2006,” Geller explained.
"Football is our passion and Adidas is the only authentic and innovative football brand. We understand the game and the psyche of the players out there better than anybody else," Adidas India managing director Andreas Gellner told Ashwin Pinto of Indian Television. In India, the company is "rolling out" the +10 campaign and +Challenge initiative across Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and Delhi. ESPN Star Sports, which will air the World Cup in India, is assisting Adidas for the event. "At each global tournament venue, India being one of them, 16 participating teams per age category (13 to 14 and 15 to 16) show their skills to get one of the 40 places for the global Adidas +Challenge final in Berlin, Germany from 1 to 4 July 2006,” Geller explained.
See also: Adidas fights off Nike/Puma 'World Cup' challenge (21 Mar)