As the battle for the World Cup brand heats up, sportswear giant Adidas looks set to gain a bigger boost than rival Nike, early data shows.
Both companies are investing heavily in the tournament, but Nike is relying on it for sales and visibility as it tries to right its ship amid years of steadily leaking market share. Investors will look for signs of progress next week when Nike reports fourth-quarter earnings.
Adidas, an official World Cup sponsor and a brand long associated with football, sponsors 14 teams and supplies the coveted match ball.
Nike fields 12 national teams, collaborates with local streetwear designers and refreshes football merchandise in more than 5,000 Nike and wholesale stores worldwide.
But while both brands are set to get a World Cup boost for their apparel businesses, Adidas is benefiting «to a greater extent so far,» says Drake MacFarlane, research analyst at M Science.
According to data from M Science, spending on Adidas apparel rose 70% in May from the previous year and remained strong through June. MacFarlane attributed the trend to “substantial growth” in jersey sales ahead of the World Cup.
Nike’s apparel business is also growing, he added, but that growth is being outpaced by Adidas, which has «the right product for the consumer.»
Foot traffic data tells a similar story.
Visits to U.S. Adidas stores rose 47% during the first week of the World Cup compared to the 2026 average, versus an 11% increase at Nike’s U.S. factory stores, according to Placer.ai data shared with Reuters.
For Adidas, these visits represented a 16% increase from the same week last year, but for Nike they represented a decline, Placer.ai found.
While Nike’s data only covers outlet stores, the overall findings still indicate that Adidas «has been top of mind with shoppers and may have done a good job in store activation around the event,» said Placer.ai research director Elizabeth Lafontaine.
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British retailer JD Sports said Mexico shirts – supplied by Adidas – were the best-selling team kit in the week starting June 15. Nike’s U.S. team jerseys ranked second in total sales, the retailer said.
One bright spot for Nike: 28% of World Cup merchandise in the US sold out during the first two weeks of the tournament – well above Adidas’s 7%, according to a report from LSEG this week.
SHOES IN FOCUS
Nike had a strong presence at the World Cup.
A Reuters analysis found that 232 of the 528 World Cup starters have worn Nike boots so far, with Adidas close behind with 218. “Nike is right,” despite Adidas’s close relationship with FIFA, said David Swartz, an equity analyst at Morningstar. “Strong visibility… is good for brand strength.”
World football’s governing body, FIFA, conducts the tournament.
Nike could use the win: Sales have fallen as demand for classic lines like Dunk and Air Jordan has cooled. Competition from newer players like On and Deckers has increased and analysts say the company is slow to transition to new styles.
While visibility at the World Cup doesn’t hurt, «at the end of the day it’s all about the product,» said Mari Shor, senior equity analyst at Columbia Threadneedle, which owns Nike stock. “If Nike’s product doesn’t resonate, nothing else matters.”
Nike’s share of the global athletic footwear market fell from 29.2% in 2022 to 22.9% last year, according to Euromonitor International data obtained by Reuters.
Nike and Adidas have been trading blows lately.
In April, Nike entered exclusive talks to supply balls for select UEFA football matches, a role Adidas held for 25 years. But later that month, Kenyan Sabastian Sawe, wearing new ultralight shoes from Adidas, broke the two-hour marathon barrier, a coup as the two companies battle for sports innovation.
Nike CEO Elliott Hill, who took over in 2024, pledged to refocus Nike on key sports such as football and running, saying the company had «lost its obsession with sports.»
Yet it remains by far the bigger company, with a market share of the footwear market still almost double that of second-place Adidas.
It’s «the biggest dog in the battle,» says Sarah Henry, portfolio manager at Logan Capital Management. “It should be able to hit everyone pretty hard.”
Published on June 25, 2026
