New Football Center to Provide Premium Training and Coaching, combined with HIV/AIDS Awareness and Testing Resources

Alexandre Pato and former South African international Shaun Bartlett joined NIKE Inc., the world’s largest football company, today to celebrate the completion of the new community Football Training Center in Soweto, South Africa. The center will give 20,000 young footballers a year the chance to develop their football talent while also having access to HIV/AIDS education through football life skills programming.

“Nike has always understood the power of sport to inspire change and to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Mark Parker, NIKE, Inc., President and CEO.  “The Football Training Center will create a lasting legacy for the Soweto community and inspire the next generation of footballers by delivering premium football clinics combined with life skills programming to give young people the knowledge they need to live HIV free.”

South African government ministers were joined by community and business leaders, along with professional athletes, to support the unveiling of the Football Training Center.

“The City of Johannesburg has always said that government working alone and in isolation will not be able to effectively address the complex challenges that face our society. To succeed, we need a partnership across all spheres of government, amongst and with civil society organizations, business as well as communities,” said City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Counsellor Amos Masondo.

“The City of Johannesburg is proud to have played a part in creating this world class Football Training Center. This facility will bring people together through community-based football programs and provide inspiration to thousands of young footballers who aspire to play for their country,” he said.

Former South African National team player Shaun Bartlett added: “The power that this football training program will have on the future footballers of South Africa can’t be underestimated. It will help players develop their game and become more disciplined on and off field. Our ultimate aim is to see kids from this program succeed at every level of the game.”

The center is part of Nike’s commitment to the communities of South Africa which dates back 15 years. It also follows Nike’s recent partnership with (RED) to leverage the power of sport to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa through the Lace Up, Save Lives campaign. When someone buys a pair of (NIKE)RED laces, Nike contributes money to support programs that offer education and medication on the ground in Africa and that harness the power of sport to engage youth around the world in the fight against AIDS.

The first round of (NIKE)RED grant recipients, receiving money from the initial six months of fundraising, were announced today at the Football Training Center. Twenty six community-based football programs, across 16 African countries will share $450,000 in grants to further their programming to educate youth on HIV/AIDS prevention through the lens of sport.

“HIV/AIDS continues to be a critical health issue in South Africa and we value the benefit that public / private partnerships bring to helping fight this disease,” said Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health South Africa. “Nike’s approach to combine football, education and medication is a powerful example of how sport can be used as a catalyst, enabling youth to make informed decisions and hopefully live a life free of HIV.”

Nike has invested in HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Africa and globally for several years, and will continue to engage with its existing community non-profit partners to use football and sport as a tool for development throughout the country.

Nike will be celebrating with Aaron Mokoena this evening as he reaches a significant milestone in his international career leading Bafana Bafana out against Guatemala in Polokwane for what will be his 100th appearance. Mokoena will appear on pitch tonight in a personalized pair of special edition Nike Elite Series boots. The supercharged boots were individually personalized with the South African flag, and his nickname.

“Aaron is known as the axe because of his formidable tackling style and that is the lettering that he wanted on his boots, Nike added the 100 in order to commemorate his achievement this evening” says Seruscka Naidoo Nike Communications Manager South Africa.

29 year-old Mokoena has played an integral part for the national team since making his senior debut all the way back in 1999 against Botswana in a match that saw him become the youngest player to represent South Africa at international level.

Aaron Mokoena’s boots were customized at the Nike Sandton Football Store in Sandton City.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) unveiled an action-packed film that brings together some of the world’s greatest players to inspire football lovers and sports fans around the world. The epic three-minute “Write the Future” film takes people on a journey that dramatically captures that one moment when headlines are written from a single pass, or one strike can bring a nation eternal happiness, while bringing others to their knees.

Some of the world’s best players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Fabio Cannavaro, Franck Ribery, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Patrice Evra, Gerard Pique, Ronaldinho, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Thiago Silva, are featured. Special guest cameos are made by tennis legend Roger Federer and basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. Homer Simpson completes the star-studded cast of appearances. The film will be shown on TV for the first time on May 22nd during the European Club Final.

Directed by renowned Hollywood director and producer Alejandro G. Iñarritu (21 Grams, Babel), this epic football journey unfolds through a match of goal line clearances, game-winning tackles and lightning footwork that literally send a ripple effect across the world.

Football fans around the world will be able to experience the full three-minute film online at nikefootball.com from May 20th at 6pm GMT before it rolls out through global partnerships with Facebook, YouTube and QQ.com on Saturday the 22nd. The spot will then air across 32 countries, sharing the campaign with millions of fans around the world on May 22nd.

This marks the first stage of a journey that will ultimately see fans around the world write their own future through experiences that put them at the center of the action. In June, fans will be able to live like their heroes through a unique experience on nikefootball.com that generates ripple videos and visuals from their own photos and information, placing them at the center stage.

Footballers can then use this creative to build their own Facebook campaign to get noticed and selected for “The Chance” – an elite Nike Academy football camp in partnership with the Barclays Premier League in England that allows players to get scouted and get noticed at the highest level of the game.

“This epic campaign really captures the scale, emotion and impact that one single moment in a football game can have on a player, fan or nation,” said Davide Grasso, NIKE, Vice President of Global Football Marketing. “This is just the beginning of the journey. The next stage allows everyone who loves football to engage and interact in an incredible way.”

The story starts when the viewer is drawn into the heat of battle on the pitch as a ball drops from the air into the path of Didier Drogba. As the world holds its collective breath, Drogba picks his way through sliding defenders and expertly chips the goalkeeper – wild celebrations commence across Africa. But they are curtailed at the last second as Fabio Cannavaro makes a stunning overhead goal line clearance. This game-changing moment propels Cannavaro to pop culture icon complete with television chat show appearances and a song dedicated to his moment of brilliance.

Other global football stars including Wayne Rooney experience how a moment on the pitch can last forever. In one scene, the England striker sees an intercepted pass picked up by midfielder Franck Ribery. The ensuing impact brings a nation to its knees and leaves us to imagine Rooney’s destroyed career and his life as a groundsman, living in a caravan, with Ribery’s image looming large above him on a giant billboard. Fast forward, and Rooney relives the moment, sprints after Ribery and wins the ball back. Personal and national pride restored, we see him receiving a knighthood, with headline-grabbing plaudits, a maternity room full of little Waynes and an effortless table-tennis defeat of Roger Federer. The Rooney ripple effect comes full circle.

Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo is fouled in a game, and as he prepares to take a vital free-kick for Portugal, we flash forward to see the ripple effect if he scores; a stadium named in his honour and a Film Premiere for a movie of his life.
“Every touch you have in a game has the ability to change the entire course of not just those 90 minutes, but your entire tournament or season,” said Cristiano Ronaldo. “One touch of the ball can be an opportunity to leave your mark on the game and write your own future, or equally a moment missed, that creates a legacy for your opponent with their fans.”

Also unveiled is Nike’s supercharged Elite Series football boots providing new levels of performance for players during the tournament. Nike’s Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, CTR360 Maestri, Total90 Laser III and Tiempo Legend III all feature a new performance upper to improve on-field visibility and a reengineered outsole to deliver lightweight performance for every style of player. The Elite Series is available to players at all levels and also incorporates Nike Football+, which features exclusive insider access to the world’s best coaches, players and teams for total game improvement.

To see the Nike “Write the Future” campaign first, fans can sign up at Nike Facebook and nikefootball.com starting at 6pm GMT today.

All four Elite Series boots to be worn by Nike players in South Africa, the Nike Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, Nike CTR360 Maestri, Nike Total90 Laser III and Nike Tiempo Legend III, are available at retail and at www.nikestore.com as of May 22, 2010.

As the World Cup approaches ever nearer, it’s worthwhile taking a look at this year’s kits and their suppliers. It’s no surprise that all the heavy hitters of football sponsorship are involved with this year’s World Cup kits, along with a few smaller companies trying to wedge themselves in amongst the sport’s elite outfitters. Adidas has the strongest showing, with a total of twelve national teams bearing the three stripes, including Argentina, Spain, and France. Nike trails behind with a respectable nine national teams, including Brazil, USA, and Portugal, with Puma just behind them with seven, including Ghana, Uruguay, and current world champions, Italy. Let’s take a closer look at what each sponsor is offering the 2010 World Cup finalists.

With the recent acquisition of football apparel supplier Umbro, Nike now boasts itself as the world’s largest football brand. This World Cup they not only provide their nine teams with home and away kits, but they’ve also made major steps to “green” their production lines. Each Nike jersey is made from eight recycled plastic bottles. To achieve this, Nike’s fabric suppliers gathered discarded plastic bottles from different landfills around Japan and Taiwan and melted them into a yarn material that was eventually used to make each jersey. The new process not only saves raw materials, while considerably reducing energy consumption, but also utilizes materials that would have otherwise gone to waste.

While Adidas falls short on the green factor at this year’s tournament, they can happily take pride in having the more creative designs than their counterpart. Nike’s kits tend to look very similar across the board, with each country’s specific graphics being the only separating factor. Adidas took the time to design each of their country’s home and away kits as completely different from each other. The design of each jersey reflects something specific and special about the country it represents. Fans are especially pleased with the home and away jerseys’ originality.

Puma can also boast original designs and pride in the fact that they are sponsoring the majority of Africa’s teams. While not as well known, the other kit suppliers involved include Brooks, sponsoring Chile, Joma, sponsoring Honduras, and Pirma, sponsoring Korea DPR. Over the last few months, as each supplier unveiled the kit designs for their respective countries, we now wait with even more anticipation to see them all in action at the World Cup 2010.

UPDATE – Comments from kit suppliers:
Hi Muzi

Regards,
Brett Bellinger
Marketing Director
PUMA SOUTH AFRICA

Andile Jali and Moeneeb Josephs take time from their short return to the country, to attend the Nike Elite Training Programme II bringing inspiration to the most talented, aspiring young footballers

Following the success of the first Nike Elite Training programme earlier this year, Nike is currently hosting its second session with 125 young, aspiring footballers at Jeppe Boys High in Kensington.

The 3-day intense training workshop, which kicked off on Friday, is co-hosted with professional coaches and specialists who are training these young guns on improving the fundamentals of football, through a series of technical, mental, physical, tactical and life skills coaching.  The drills and exercises, developed in conjunction with Barcelona and Juventus football clubs, and the Brasil federation, focus on control, accuracy and speed.  The life skills coaching include fitness, nutrition and HIV/Aids awareness, with on-site voluntary testing and counseling.

“The set up of the Nike Elite Training programme is proving to be a serious step up in youth development.  After attending the first programme earlier this year with some of these young players, I can see a definite change in their play.  They are showing improved skills and determination,” said Moeneeb Josephs.

The first Elite Training programme kicked off with over 200 footballers registering for the 3-day event.  However with Elite Training II, only 120 footballers were invited to register, as they proved to be highly skilled, competitive and determined to earn a top spot in a professional club, and even the national team, in time for 2014.  These youngsters are aged between 16 and 19 years.

The core team of football coaches and specialists include:  Shaun Bartlett, Linda Buthalezi, Roger de Sa,  Harold Legodi, Fani Madida, Tebogo Moloi and Eric Tinkler, and professional fitness and life skills coach Elsa Storm.

Moeneeb Josephs Coaching

Andile Jali Controls

Nike is celebrating the opening of its first football retail store in Sandton, Johannesburg – a first for South Africa, and the African continent, with the store launch on March 4th.

The Nike Football Sandton store, located in Sandton City Mall, the country’s most iconic shopping destination, will expand beyond innovative product offerings, presenting exclusive access to premium products and benefits, an elevated retail experience, and a new on-demand customization service.

Nike Football Sandton is a stand-alone store carrying the complete Nike Football collection, and the Nike Sportswear football-inspired collections.

Designed in an inspiring football setting, the on-field product offering includes Nike’s four-silo boot wall, team kits, international and local team replica and supporter wear, and football accessories.

The on-site customization of all products is made available through the high-tech equipment, imported from Europe, offering silk screen printing and embroidery, while you wait.

“Nike Football Sandton will offer a unique and innovative approach with the most diverse lineup of products, elevated staffing and interactive experiences in-store.  And with the global football tournament in June, Nike’s nine football teams’ replica and supporter products will be more accessible, with the offering of customization,” said Anwar Jappie, Nike South Africa Football Category Director.

Being a premium destination for professional and aspiring footballers, Nike’s other interactive services include NikeFootball+, a digital football experience delivering exclusive content to help players master their game with top professional insights.

Staff will assist consumers with accessing the content on Apple Macs in store, through unlocking their unique user-codes, when purchasing new boots.

The ‘Players Lounge’ within the store is synonymous with a VIP area, where members of Nike Football Sandton will benefit from exclusive product launches, discounts on product and invited exclusively to Nike trials. Members will have to belong to an accredited football club or academy to join.

On March, 4th, supporters of Brasil can be among the first to purchase the new Nike Brasil Federation team kit launching on the day.

Many of the world’s leading players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Robinho and Ji-Sung Park will take to the pitch in South Africa this summer wearing the most environmentally-friendly and technologically-advanced kit in football’s history. For the first time, all of Nike’s national teams, including Brazil, Portugal and The Netherlands, will be wearing jerseys made entirely from recycled polyester, each one produced from up to eight recycled plastic bottles.

“This summer in South Africa Nike will give footballers an edge by providing the newest and most innovative product for the game’s greatest players,” said Charlie Denson, President, Nike Brand. “With today’s announcement, we are equipping athletes with newly designed uniforms that not only look great and deliver performance benefits, but are also made with recycled materials, creating less impact on our environment.”

To make the 2010 national team kits, Nike’s fabric suppliers sourced discarded plastic bottles from Japanese and Taiwanese landfill sites and then melted them down to produce new yarn that was ultimately converted to fabric for the jerseys.

This process saves raw materials and reduces energy consumption by up to 30 percent compared to manufacturing virgin polyester. By using recycled polyester for its new range of national jerseys, Nike prevented nearly 13 million plastic bottles, totaling nearly 254,000 kg of polyester waste, from going into landfill sites. This amount would be enough to cover more than 29 football pitches. If the recycled bottles used to make the jerseys were laid end-to-end they would cover more than 3,000 kilometres, which is more than the entire coastline of South Africa.

The national team kits represent an important step in the process to make all Nike products more sustainable.

In addition, all the national team kits have been designed with each country’s national culture and identity in mind. Nike understands the pride athletes experience playing for their country so each kit has been designed to represent the heritage and unique football culture of the nine national teams.

Kit Innovations
Considering the environment doesn’t mean sacrificing the innovative performance elements of Nike’s kits. For this summer’s finals, the kits have been designed to keep players drier, cooler and more comfortable, allowing them to maintain an optimum body temperature and perform at their best on the pitch.

Improved Nike Dri-Fit fabric, now 13 percent lighter than previous Nike kit fabrications, helps keep players dry by drawing sweat to the outside of the garment where it evaporates. Ventilation zones have been placed on each side of the jersey to enhance breathability, and are combined with a fabric that increases air flow by up to seven percent compared to previous kits. Air can now pass across a player’s whole torso, keeping him cooler. These ventilation zones consist of up to 200 tiny laser cut holes which are backed by Nike’s innovative halo application. This treatment prevents ripping without reducing air flow.

The Nike kit shorts also have additional ventilation zones placed below the waistband and near the base of the spine, so this area prone to high sweat levels will now be significantly drier.

The jersey’s new double knit structure not only gives it a sleeker appearance, while offering 10 percent more stretch than the last Nike national team kit jerseys jerseys, but also boasts a new dynamic fit  cut to follow the natural contours of the body while still allowing for maximum airflow and movement.

Players will also incorporate the unique benefits of Nike Pro Combat into their respective national team kits. Featuring an engineered system of dress, Pro Combat includes Slider and Impact shorts for added protection against light impact and abrasion along with a therma Mock that protects players’ necks against harsh conditions.

The teams wearing Nike’s new national team jerseys in South Africa are: Brazil, The Netherlands, Portugal, USA, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, and Slovenia.

National team home kits will be available May 1st globally at local Nike store locations and nikefootball.com. Away national team kits will be available starting February 25th, 2010.

First-of-its-kind football boot features revolutionary NIKE SENSE adaptive traction technology and helps players improve their performance with expert tips and training through Nike Football+

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) unveiled the Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II, a lightweight boot featuring a new, unique adaptive traction system designed for explosive acceleration.

The Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II features a re-engineered upper for enhanced fit and ball control for fast feet. The vibrant ultra-violet color boosts visibility on the pitch.

“NIKE, Inc. is the world’s largest and most innovative football company,” said Mark Parker, NIKE, Inc.’s President & CEO. “Our success in the world’s most popular sport is based on creating innovative products and experiences such as the new, incredibly light and responsive Mercurial SuperFly II boot and Nike Football+ which connects the digital and physical worlds of football. These are among Nike’s most advanced products to date and will help write the next chapter for Nike football.”

Traction on demand
In developing NIKE SENSE adaptive traction technology, designers created a smart stud that can extend and retracts by up to 3mm, based on ground conditions and pressure exerted by the player.  Directionally positioned blades maximize cutting and allow for quick changes of direction, while secondary toe traction provides added toe-off power for those first critical steps. The result is a boot that enables greater speed in all directions.

Nike’s design and engineering teams talked with some of the fastest players in the world, who emphasized that acceleration around a defender is just as important as beating him in a straight line. The Nike Sports Research Lab researched the world championship finals in 2006 and found that there were 845 slipping events over 63 games, or roughly 14 per game. Building on these insights, the Nike team collaborated closely with elite athletes including Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexandre Pato to create a boot that enables toe-off acceleration and minimizes slippage in game-changing situations. “For me, it’s all about first-step acceleration, but twisting and turning around a defender is also important,” Cristiano Ronaldo said. “The Mercurial Vapor Superfly II helps me do both, so I can beat my opponent and create scoring opportunities.”

Athlete insights also pointed to the desire for a close fit around the foot without compromising on durability or support. Next-generation Nike Flywire technology incorporated into the boot’s streamlined upper provides a lightweight, strong and more dynamic fit. The carbon composite tuned chassis provides a lightweight platform with traction elements and allows players to stay closer to the ground.

Access to the elite through Nike Football+

The Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II also gives consumers unprecedented access to the training insights of the world’s top players, teams and coaches through Nike Football+. Each pair of boots comes with a unique user code that can be used to unlock trade secrets from inside the game and the next installment of Nike Football+, Master Speed training content on NikeFootball.com.

The Nike Football + Master Speed program provides exclusive access to Brazil national team stars Robinho, Fabiano and Nilmar, putting the power of speed directly into footballers’ hands and their game day preparation. Four camps are available:

• A Pelada – Learn high-speed ways to practice fast, competitive Brazilian football.
• O Brasilerao – Meet the coaches and players of Brazil’s premier club, Corinthians. Experience four authentic drills with top club coaches.
• Na Gringa – Only the best Brazilians go to Europe.  Get the inside track on the real difference between the continental games from the superstars who experience it – and apply it to your own game.
• A Selecao –Enter the top secret world of the Brazil National Team’s training hideaway in the mountains, Granja Comery. Experience squad drills and 3-man exercises with a top CBF coach.

Building on the Master Speed program, “Inside the Elite” is a new feature offering exclusive inside access to players. Athletes including Robinho, Javier Mascherano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic offer candid insights on their game and match preparation.

In addition to these Nike Football+ Master Speed programs, footballers will have access to country-specific Nike Football+ activities like training sessions, trial events and player appearances. Nike Football+ is also available as an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch on iTunes®.

The Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II boot is available at retail globally and at www.nikestore.com from April 1st 2010. Nike Football+ can be accessed at www.nikesoccer.com.

On the day before World Aids day some of the world’s best footballers joined Bono at announcement of partnership between NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) and (RED).

The unique partnership delivers a two-pronged approach to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa, with programmes that offer both education and medication on the ground, and will harness the power of sport to engage youth around the world in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Footballers involved include: Didier Drogba (Chelsea & Ivory Coast), Joe Cole (Chelsea & England), Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal & Russia), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan & Italy), Denilson (Arsenal & Brazil), Lucas Neill (Everton & Australia), Clint Dempsey (Fulham & USA) and Seol Ki-Hyeon (Fulham & South Korea). Continue Reading

In 1987 when Tinker Hatfield famously cut a hole in the side of the Air Max 1 exposing Nike Air, he wasn’t to know that this small act would cause a global revolution.  An icon of innovation, the Air Max 1 is the hardest working running shoe ever, having logged more miles than Alberto Salazaar and Mary-Decker-Slaney combined. Other shoes get a little intimidated because this shoe is a big deal. It craves pavements, cement and asphalt and will not be stopped.

30 years later, the Air Max 1 spirit lives on, as Nike re-crafts this iconic shoe in the form of the Air Maxim 1, taking a classic shoe and applying new technologies to create a revolution all over again.

Join our ten South African Revolutionaries as they carry the spirit of the Air Max 1 forward in their work and their life, and the lead the charge into Cape/Burg. Continue Reading