Following recent deals with football bodies in Australia and Indonesia, Nike has announced a four-year sponsorship of the Football Association of Malaysia. The sportswear company will provide the main attire for all national teams and also contribute to youth development programs.
The contract has an option for renewal for another five years. The partnership began last night with the unveiling of the national team shirt which will be worn by the senior side in the ASEAN Football Federation Championship, beginning in Bangkok.
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The FA of Malaysia (FAM) have signed a four-year sponsorship deal with Nike Malaysia to be the main attire providers for all national teams and also on youth development programmes.
The partnership has an option for renewal for another five years.
The partnership began last night with the unveiling of the new jersey for the national team and it will be worn by the senior side in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship, beginning in Bangkok on Friday.
In announcing the partnership, the FAM deputy president, Datuk Redzuan Tan Sri Sheikh Ahmad, said that the deal would also benefit their youth programmes that were already in place.
"The amount is substantial and it is just not confine to the attire alone. In Malaysia, Nike have an extensive history in support of youth programmes for the last decade, among them the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup that provides Under-15s with a platform to develop their talent," he said.
"More recently, Nike encouraged more than 50,000 young people to join the Joga Bonito grassroots event that inspired football participation across the country. These programmes will continue and we will also look at other areas of cooperation."
The marketing director, Nike South-East Asia, Tim Parkinson, said that their aim was to use their experience in the sports for the benefit of Malaysian football.
"Nike have worked with world-class teams at both national and club levels and our passion for football leads us to continue to invest in the development of the sport across South-East Asia. We hope to instil a world-class culture of performance and success here as well," he said.New kit for tigers
The Malaysian national football team was presented with a new kit by new sponsors Nike in a glittering ceremony held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre tonight.The new jerseys from the foremost sporting equipment manufacturers will make its debut when the Malaysian national team takes part in the Asean Football Championship next week in Bangkok.
The new colour is a throwback to the kit used by Malaysian national team of the 1920s while the away colour is a reflection of the colours of the Malaysian flag.
What will give further distinction to the new Malaysian kit is also the representation of the Malay ‘keris’ at the bottom left corner of each shirt.
"We give our gratitude to Nike for making this partnership a reality," said Dato’ Redzuan Tan Sri Sheikh Ahmad, the deputy president of the FA of Malaysia (FAM) at the official launch.
"But this cooperation will not only be about Nike being our new sponsors for the national team jerseys but also part of a new plan to usher in a new era in Malaysian football.
"With their extensive links in Europe and elsewhere, we hope that we can integrate Nike’s technical ability to the success of the Road Map which will be unveiled soon by the FAM. So it is a win-win situation where FAM is looking to more than just the sale of national team shirts."
For Tim Parkinson, the Marketing Director, Nike Southeast Asia, the partnership with the national body has been akin to a synergy where both parties can attain mutual benefit.
Parkinson said that through this new cooperation, Nike will be servicing and supplying the FAM all equipments including those for the Academy boys and where it is hope that it will get young players motivated to play in the new national colours.
"What Nike knows is the taste of success and really following our work in Brazil, Portugal and France, there is no secret to success," added Parkinson.
"All that young players’ need is inspiration and self-belief and through this partnership, we hope that we can provide just that.
"I hope that we can help the Malaysian Tigers regain the roar of yesteryears."
The deal with Nike is for four years with the option to extend for five more.
