Nike to supply French National Football in 2011

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nike Inc (NKE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will supply equipment to the French National Football team starting in 2011, it announced on Friday, beating out rival Adidas AG (ADSG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), the team's supplier since the early 1970s.

Nike's contract with "Les Bleus" lasts through the 2017-2018 season.

The deal with Nike, the world's largest maker of athletic footwear and clothing, will bring the French national team a guaranteed 320 million euros ($474 million) over the duration of the seven-and-a-half-year contract, or approximately 42.66 million euros each season, the French Federation of Football said on its Web site (http://www.fff.fr).

Additionally, it will supply clothing and equipment worth an extra 2.5 million euros a year.

Nike outbid Adidas, as well as Airness, a smaller privately-owned French brand.

"In total, the new contract will bring the Federation four and a half times more resources than the current contract," the federation said.

Adidas has been the team's supplier since 1972.

Nike is vying with Adidas to be the No. 1 name in football, a global sport long dominated by the German company. The U.S. company has been trying to secure upcoming contracts with national teams who have historically been aligned with Adidas and Puma (PUMG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).

But last summer, Nike lost out in a bid to outfit the German national team. The German Football Association opted instead to renew its deal with Adidas even though Nike offered 500 million euros to begin outfitting the team starting in 2011, a sum many times more than the Adidas deal.