Kit sponsors at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
From July 20th till August 20th, Australia and New Zealand host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. 32 nations will compete across nine cities for the ninth World Cup.
After analysing the kit sponsors at other tournaments like the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, we now look at the kit sponsors at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Are the usual sports apparel brands acting as kit sponsor of the women teams? What is the situation like compared to other editions and between the various confederations? And what did the previous eight champions wear on their way to glory?
2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Kit Sponsors: 32 nations, 10 brands
10 different clothing brands sponsor the 32 nations competing in Australia and New Zealand. Fans will see kits from Adidas, Castore, Grand Sport, Hummel, KoPa, Le Coq Sportif, Nike, Puma, Reebok and Saeta. That is four more than during the 2019 edition. The 33 percent increase in participating nations from 24 to 32, could partly explain this.
Nike is the main kit supplier at the 2023 Women’s World Cup with 13 nations. Despite the larger field, that is one less than during the previous Women’s World Cup in France. Chile, sponsored by Nike in 2019, did not qualify this time around. While South Africa switched to Le Coq Sportif. Debutant Portugal was added to Nike’s World Cup roster.
Adidas supplies 10 nations. A significant increase compared to the previous edition where they sponsored six countries. Scotland, who wore Adidas four years ago, did not qualify. While Adidas became the technical supplier, amongst others, of Costa Rica (switched from New Balance) and Italy (switched from Puma) at the beginning of 2023.
The German brand is also a long-term FIFA and World Cup partner, being associated with the governing body since 1970. So, they supply the tournament’s gear, like the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Adidas ball: OCEAUNZ (buy on Amazon), and their logo is visible in-game and in the tournament’s official marketing material.
Over 70% is supplied by two brands
Together, Nike and Adidas sponsor over 70 percent of the nations. Puma is the only other brand to sponsor multiple teams (Morocco and Switzerland) at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. One more than during the 2019 edition, where they only sponsored Italy. However, the 20-year partnership between Puma and the Italian Football Federation came to an end in 2022.
Castore, Grand Sport, Hummel, KoPa, Le Coq Sportif, Reebok and Saeta complete the list by each sponsoring one nation.
Castore supplies Ireland, one of eight debutants at the tournament. The relatively young English brand (founded in 2015) has partnerships with teams from cricket, rugby, football, and Formula 1. One of their first major partnerships was with three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray. The most notable European football clubs wearing Castore now are Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Bayer Leverkusen, Feyenoord, and Sevilla.
Another first-timer, Panama, wears Reebok kits. At the 2019 Women’s World Cup, Reebok was still part of the Adidas corporation. Since 2021, Reebok belongs to the Authentic Brands Group (an American brand management company) who bought the brand for €2.1 million.
Zambia, another nation making their debut, wears the Football Federation of Zambia’s in-house brand KoPa.
Kit sponsors of the nations at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
| Nation (Confederation) | Kit Sponsor |
|---|---|
| Argentina (CONMEBOL) | Adidas |
| Australia (AFC) | Nike |
| Brazil (CONMEBOL) | Nike |
| Canada (CONCACAF) | Nike |
| China (AFC) | Nike |
| Colombia (CONMEBOL) | Adidas |
| Costa Rica (CONCACAF) | Adidas |
| Denmark (UEFA) | Hummel |
| England (UEFA) | Nike |
| France (UEFA) | Nike |
| Germany (UEFA) | Adidas |
| Haiti (CONCACAF) | Saeta |
| Ireland (UEFA) | Castore |
| Italy (UEFA) | Adidas |
| Jamaica (CONCACAF) | Adidas |
| Japan (AFC) | Adidas |
| Morocco (CAF) | Puma |
| Netherlands (UEFA) | Nike |
| New Zealand (OFC) | Nike |
| Nigeria (CAF) | Nike |
| Norway (UEFA) | Nike |
| Panama (CONCACAF) | Reebok |
| Philippines (AFC) | Adidas |
| Portugal (UEFA) | Nike |
| South Africa (CAF) | Le Coq Sportif |
| South Korea (AFC) | Nike |
| Spain (UEFA) | Adidas |
| Sweden (UEFA) | Adidas |
| Switzerland (UEFA) | Puma |
| USA (CONCACAF) | Nike |
| Vietnam (AFC) | Grand Sport |
| Zambia (CAF) | KoPa |
Nike sponsors at least one nation from each confederation
20 nations participating at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup also qualified for the 2019 World Cup in France. Only three of those nations wear a different brand this edition: Italy, Jamaica, and South Africa.
UEFA (Europe) has the most nations playing at the 2023 edition. The 12 UEFA teams are sponsored by five different brands – Nike (five nations), Adidas (four), Castore, Hummel, and Puma (all one).
The four participating CONCACAF (North and Middle America) teams are sponsored by four different brands – Adidas, Nike (both two), Reebok and Saeta (both one).
The CAF (Africa) nations each have a different kit sponsor. Adidas, KoPa, Nike and Le Coq Sportif each sponsor one team from the African continent.
While Adidas (three), Nike (two) and the Thai brand Grand Sport sponsor the six AFC (Asia) nations.
The thee participating CONMEBOL (South America) teams wear either Adidas (two) or Nike (one). While host New Zealand (OFC) wears Nike.
Kit sponsors at the 2023 Women’s World Cup vs. 2019 vs. 2022 Men’s
Comparing the kit suppliers at the 2023 tournament to those at the 2019 edition shows an increase in the number of brands. However, Nike and Adidas still dominate and thus have the most on-field exposure. In 2023, the two brands supply over 70 percent of the teams. This was even higher during the previous edition with over 80 percent.
Compared to the 2022 Men’s World Cup, there are not many differences. In Qatar there were nine different kit suppliers, so one less. Nike and Adidas also supplied the most kits. However, only 63 percent of the nations. Puma outfitted six nations.
How do the 2023 kit sponsors compare to 2019 and the 2022 Men’s?
| 2023 Women’s World Cup | 2019 Women’s World Cup | 2022 Men’s World Cup | |
| Total number of teams | 32 | 24 | 32 |
| Total number of brands | 10 | 6 | 9 |
| Brands (number of teams) | Nike (13) | Nike (14) | Nike (13) |
| Adidas (10) | Adidas (6) | Adidas (7) | |
| Puma (2) | Le Coq Sportif (1) | Puma (6) | |
| Castore (1) | Puma (1) | Hummel (1) | |
| Grand Sport (1) | Umbro (1) | Kappa (1) | |
| Hummel (1) | Warrix (1) | Majid (1) | |
| KoPa (1) | Marathon (1) | ||
| Le Coq Sportif (1) | New Balance (1) | ||
| Reebok (1) | One All Sports (1) | ||
| Saeta (1) |
Long-running kit sponsorships
Between the last two editions there were few changes in kit sponsors. Partly because major national federations do not often switch to a different technical kit supplier. Some have had partnerships with the same sports apparel brand for decades.
For example, Adidas has supplied the German national team since 1954. In 2018 the German brand extended their deal with the 2014 World Cup champions until 2026. The deal is reportedly worth €50 million per year to the DFB, the German Football Federation.
Other nations do not come close to the long partnership between the DFB and Adidas, but multiple other partnerships started over two decades ago. Spain (since 1991) and Japan (since 1999) wear Adidas, while the USA (since 1995), Brazil and the Netherlands (both since 1997) wear Nike for over twenty years.
All Women’s World Cup winners wore either Adidas or Nike
Adidas and Nike also lead when it comes to supplying the World Cup champions. During the eight editions held so far, the World Cup champions wore either Adidas (five) or Nike (three).
Defending champions USA have won the Women’s World Cup four times. During the first edition in 1991 they accomplished this in Adidas kits, but in 1999, 2015 and 2019 they won while wearing American brand Nike.
Norway (1995), Germany (2003 and 2007) and Japan (2011) all wore Adidas during their successful World Cup campaigns.
