Euro 2012: Extending the football feast into the summer

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As April gives way to May there are only a few weeks left of the football season left, with professional and amateur players alike being left to look back on a season of highs and lows. But this year, of course, the end of the football season means one thing: more football.

Because before the dust settles on the 2011/12 domestic season, Europe’s elite players will head out to the 2012 Uefa European Championships. Few are looking past current European and World Champions Spain to take the overall crown, but if the Champions League exits of Real Madrid and Barcelona (teams from which almost all of the Spain first 11 will be gathered) are anything to go by, the Iberians may not have it all their own way. Germany look stronger than ever with an exciting crop of young players, while Holland only narrowly lost out in the final of the 2010 World Cup. France have quickly recovered from their South African embarrassment and Italy, well they’re Italy. This all points to a potentially strong and exciting competition, even if England are bound to frustrate again.

For the armchair fan, the tournament’s evening kick-offs provide the chance to get out and stretch your legs with a friendly kickaround in the day; the good news is that this time of the year is also a great time to buy new football boots. The marketing departments of Nike, Puma and Adidas will shortly work themselves them up into a frenzy with all the new lines, meaning that boots that were the in-thing a month ago will soon be out in the cold, with a much lower price tag.

Shop for football boots online and you’re likely to find big discounts, which are happening with many retailers already. Then you can take that discount and try the new Euro 2012 ball, which Adidas has promised is nothing like the much-maligned Jabulani, some of which are probably still in near-earth orbit. Here’s hoping.

This was a guest post provided by JD Sports.

Adidas World Cup football sees huge sale number

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Adidas World Cup football sees huge sale number German equipment and sportswear group Adidas stated on Monday that it expects to soon reach record sales in football gear thanks to the South African World Cup.

The company believes it will reach sales of almost two billion from jerseys, balls, boots, and other similar items which is an increase from previous predictions of 1.3b. Adidas sponsors 12 out of the 32 World Cup teams, which include France, Spain, Argentina, and Germany, as well as the hosts of this year’s World Cup, South Africa.

Boss of Adidas, Herbert Hainer, stated that the jerseys are selling much better than expected with a million jerseys from German, Argentina, South Africa, and Mexico sold.

By the end of the 2006 World Cup Adidas was able to sell three million jerseys and given the fact that Adidas are expecting to see six of its sponsored teams make it past the competition’s first round, sales should continue to rise.

The group is also behind the controversial Jabulani football team which is being used as the official ball of the competition which it predicts will reach sales of 13m.

Markus Baumann, the overseer of Adidas football activites, stated that the ball is top selling item at the moment.

Outside of the jersey and ball sales, Adidas also has seen a large increase in the sales of boots with contracts with Lionel Messi the Argentinean superstar although Nike has both Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.   Teams only need to wear the official uniform of their sponsor while each player can choose what type of boots to wear.

The Adidas F50 adiZero – the world’s lightest football boot

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The Adidas F50 adiZero - the world's lightest football boot Today it is the turn of the football boot to be revolutionised.  At only 165grams the brand new adidas F50 adiZero is the lightest boot ever made and it is set to transform the beautiful game. The boots combine ultra light materials with core stability that will allow players to travel at light speed. Lionel Messi, the best player in the world, will wear this new innovation at the forthcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup as he aims to set the world alight.

The need for innovation and speed in football has never been greater. Millimetres and split seconds are what players are judged on and the adidas F50 adiZero has been designed to redefine the rules of fast. The boot is made from the industry’s lightest fabrics and leading technologies to reach 165 grams per boot – the same weight as a Frisbee. This seemingly impossible achievement is made possible by a number of key design developments:

* A SprintSkin single layer upper to the boot means its light and ultra comfortable
* A Sprint Frame outsole takes inspiration from running sprint spikes using bridges to creates support throughout the foot
* Thermo Polyurethane bands are weaved throughout the top of the boot to aid stability when travelling at speed
* A revolutionary triangular stud configuration provides maximum acceleration and optimum support for lateral and medial movements

Lionel Messi will be the first player to wear the distinctive chameleon purple, white and electricity colourway during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The FIFA World Player of the Year said “I am amazed at how light the new F50 is; I can barely feel them on my feet. Speed on the pitch is a really important part of my game and wearing the world’s lightest boot will hopefully make me faster and enhance my performance during the most important games of the year!”

The F50 adiZero will be worn by players during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The chameleon purple, white and electricity boot will be worn exclusively by Lionel Messi with Steven Pienaar (South Africa), Jozy Altidore (U.S.A), Shunsake Nakamura (Japan), Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast), Arjen Robben (Holland) and Lukas Podolski (Germany) wearing the sun, black and collegiate gold colourway and David Villa (Spain), Samir Nasri (France), Jermain Defoe (England) and Johan Vonlanthen (Switzerland) wearing the black and sun version.

The black/sun yellow colourway and the sun yellow/black/gold colourway will hit retail on May 24th 2010 in all adidas Sport Performance stores, as well as at leading e-retailers and selected sports retailers around the world. The Chameleon boot will go on sale on July 12th 2010.

RRP £125

Follow adidas’ 50 Days of Fast on www.facebook.com/adidasfootball featuring Messi, Kaka, De Rossi, Simao, Ballack and Gourcuff giving insights on how they think football has developed over the years to become a faster game. Facebook fans also have the chance to take part in a “fast” knowledge competition to win a pair of new F50’s exclusively signed by Messi.