Lahm urges German federation to use Nike money for women's football
Euro 2024 tournament director and 2014 world champion Philipp Lahm called on the German Football Federation (DFB) to use the money from the million-euro deal with Nike to promote women's football, among other things.
"If the DFB uses the fresh money to support amateur clubs, children's football, referee training and women's football - then the decision in favour of Nike would be a good one. Because the whole thing is primarily financed by the fans who buy the goods," he wrote in his column for the Zeit Online portal on Tuesday.
Now it's important to return all the money to where it came from: "To the grassroots," Lahm said.
The DFB announced in March that national team kits will be made by US sportswear giant Nike from 2027 rather than long-standing German supplier Adidas. The deal runs until 2034 and Nike will reportedly pay more than €100 million ($108.8 million) per year.
According to the DFB, financial aspects were the main deciding factor for the shocking switch, which was sharply criticized by fans and even politicians.
Lahm can understand the criticism. "For every German football fan over the age of 30, the DFB and Adidas are a single entity," he wrote.
"I feel the same way. I played 113 times for Germany and 20 years for Bayern Munich. I became world champion in three stripes (a trademark of Adidas consisting of three parallel lines), at Bayern I was the captain of a club in which Adidas owns shares. Adidas was my supplier, together we were successful," he said.
