Dear football fans,

adidas is delighted to present itself once again as a FIFA Partner for the numerous competitions and developing activities of football's world governing body. In addition, adidas will also serve as Official Licensee and Supplier of the FIFA World Cup™ in 2010 and 2014.

adidas is the number one football brand in the world and has been inspired by football ever since the 1920s. The company founded by Adi Dassler has spent over 80 years meeting and exceeding the needs of footballers on the pitch. This dedication to the sport and its close relationships with athletes and teams enabled adidas to become an integral part(ner) of the history, the present and the future of football.

The relationship between FIFA and adidas dates back more than 30 years. Even before then, adidas was a key part of the game. For example, when introducing the first screw-in studs in 1954 worn by the players of the FIFA World Cup™-winning German national team.

Besides the FIFA World Cup™, adidas is also involved in all other FIFA events - for instance the FIFA Women's World Cup in China next year, the FIFA U-20 World Cups for women and men as well as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, to name just a few. In Europe, adidas participates as Official Sponsor and Official Match Ball Supplier for the UEFA EURO 2008™ and the UEFA Champions League™. In Africa, adidas supports the African Cup of Nations and is an official partner of the Confederation of African Football.

Next to the major tournaments, adidas has not forgotten the youth sector as the future of football, providing major UEFA tournaments such as the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (2007 and 2009) with marketing and products, organising grassroots events and clinics all over the world.
Football is all about passion. Passion for your country taking part in the FIFA World Cup™, passion for the game, and passion for the ball. Millions of athletes and fans all over the world share this passion. From Europe to America and Asia to Africa, every four years billions of people are infected with FIFA World Cup™ fever.

Football is emotion and everybody treasures his favourite FIFA World Cup™ moment. What is life without football? And what is football without a football? As FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter once said: "In my opinion, the ball is an even more important symbol than the FIFA World Cup trophy simply because the whole essence of the game revolves around this object."

adidas has the same passion and fever. Since 1970, adidas has been supplying the official match ball for all FIFA World Cup™ matches. Every victory, every defeat, every emotion is focused on or created by the ball. For every FIFA World Cup™, adidas designers aim at devising the perfect ball for the benefit of the participating associations and players and to maximise the element of fun and excitement. By using innovative technology and design for the official match ball, adidas is supporting the FIFA World Cup™ by creating a unique football experience.

Among the adidas line of legendary balls were the Tango, the first ball to combine leather and polyurethane (1982) successfully, the Azteca, the first fully synthetic ball (1986), the Questra, the polyurethane foam-based ball (1994), the Tricolore, which introduced a syntactic foam layer (1998) and the Fevernova the ball with a revolutionary design and the best performance characteristics to date (2002). Today the +Teamgeist (2006) has set new standards with its innovative design and panel-technology.

Besides the official match ball, adidas also supports major associations and some of the world's best players with other products (jerseys, shoes, and gloves). At all the events of football's world governing body, FIFA officials, referees, ballboys and volunteers wear adidas products. adidas is therefore involved at all levels of the game, from the top players in major associations to the functional equipment for all FIFA referees right through to the outfits for volunteers.

For more information on adidas and its products please visit: www.adidas.com

adidas is part of the adidas Group, one of the global leaders in the sporting goods industry offering a wide range of products around the three core segments of adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has more than 25,000 employees worldwide and generates sales of about € 9.5 billion (2005).