Football, marathons, F1 and more: Adidas going all-in for sports sponsorship

[SINGAPORE] When the Singapore Lions – the country’s men’s national football team – face Indonesia in the Asean Hyundai Cup on Friday (Aug 7) evening, the players will be decked out in a brand-new kit that they hope will bring them luck and deliver the points they need to reach the semi-finals.

The match at the Jalan Besar Stadium is completely sold out, and many among the 5,000-plus fans will be wearing the Lions’ new home jersey that was launched last weekend by German sportswear giant adidas.

Chen Ruiyuan, the country manager for adidas Singapore who will also be at the packed venue to cheer the Lions on, said that the aim is to ensure this new multi-year partnership with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) will last for a very long time.

At the launch event at adidas’ Brand Centre Orchard on Aug 2, the store saw snaking queues as fans turned up in the hundreds to snap up the new jerseys.

It’s not just football that adidas is involved with in a big way. The brand famous for its three stripes also sponsors many other athletes and teams in sports such as running, tennis, pickleball, Formula 1 (F1) and more.

BT Weekend recently sat down for a chat with Chen – an ardent Liverpool supporter for the past 30-plus years – to find out more about adidas’ sponsorship strategy and why it is investing in so many different events and sports. This is an edited transcript of the interview.

Tell me about your role as the country manager.

I joined the company four years ago and I am responsible for everything that happens in Singapore across all channels – from our own retail stores, to franchises, e-commerce, wholesale partners and others.

We have about 20 physical stores in Singapore today, 17 of which are concept stores. These include our store at Marina Bay Sands, Jewel at Changi Airport, Resorts World Sentosa and the Brand Centre along Orchard Road.

What have been some of the more recent major sports partnerships?

Yes, last year we marked our return to motorsport with a multi-year partnership to sponsor the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. We are also the official apparel and technical partner for the Audi F1 team.

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And for the Fifa World Cup that recently concluded, we sponsored and supplied the kits for 14 national teams, including the finalists Spain and Argentina.

This year, we are the official presenting sponsor and official apparel and footwear partner for the BYD Singapore International Marathon, which will take place in December. As part of the deal, we have the naming rights to the half-marathon category.

The World Cup period must have been quite busy for all of you.

Whenever a World Cup rolls around, the business is nothing short of amazing – from sales to customer engagement and others.

This year’s World Cup in North America was exceptional as there were more teams taking part – a record 48, up from 32 teams previously. It would have been even better if some of the match timings were more in our favour.

Overall, there were a lot of conversations about the teams and the results, people were following the action regularly, and that helped to bring a lot of traffic to our stores. Many of the more popular jerseys sold out early, such as the Japan away shirt and the Spain away shirt.

What made adidas decide to embark on this major deal with the FAS and the Singapore Lions?

We always believe in investing in local sports in Singapore, and football and the national team are very important to us.

We were in discussions with the FAS for quite a while, and we were able to agree on a partnership that we hope will last for a very long time. Our intention is to be with the FAS for the long term.

Personally, I have a deep affection for Singapore football too. I remember going to the old National Stadium in the 1990s to watch the Lions play in the Malaysia Cup, and I’ll never forget the feeling of cheering alongside 60,000 other fans. Football is really one of those sports that can change people’s lives.

Are you a big sports fan yourself?

I love playing and watching football. I’ve been a supporter of Liverpool for over 30 years now, and I’ve followed this team through many ups and downs.

I do try to go to the gym as often as I can, to do more weights and strength training. What I have learned – at this stage of my life, without having to divulge my age – is that you have to spend some time in the gym working on your strength and functional mobility, in order to continue to play sports.

At this evening’s Singapore vs Indonesia match at the Jalan Besar Stadium, there will be an adidas pop-up at the South Entrance with a merchandise truck retailing the home and away jerseys and other items. The pop-up will be open from 6 pm to 11.05 pm.