Spain's World Cup victory: new kit, sales surge for Adidas, and market challenges

The second star now has its place on the Spanish national team shirt. The emblem immortalises the team's second World Cup victory after defeating Argentina on Sunday. It joins the star commemorating the 2010 title win in South Africa.

La Roja's kit, now featuring the second star above the crest, will hit the market in the coming weeks. Adidas, the team's technical sponsor, has announced that the shirt will be available for pre-order exclusively through its official app from August 4. From August 15, it will also be available via the Royal Spanish Football Federation's channels.

The German brand will also release a commemorative T-shirt on Tuesday, available in navy blue and red. It will feature Spain's journey through the World Cup to celebrate last night's title victory.

For Adidas, the victory comes amidst strong commercial momentum. The manufacturer, which supplied both finalists, has turned the tournament into one of the biggest successes in its recent history. According to data from the DPA agency, the company has sold four times more shirts than during the Qatar World Cup and has doubled sales of the official ball. The group expects to generate around 1.5 billion euros in revenue related to the World Cup. This figure is at the upper end of the forecast provided by its chief executive officer, Björn Gulden. Among the 14 national teams sponsored by Adidas, host country Mexico led sales.

Ephemeral nature of victories

As history moves forward, so does the market. The shirt that on Sunday represented the latest great sporting achievement is today an outdated version for a consumer who wants to celebrate their team's victory. Consequently, the addition of the second star to the Royal Spanish Football Federation's crest immediately turns the stock of single-star shirts into a product with less commercial potential.

Traditionally, brands have managed this type of surplus through discount campaigns, donations or, in some markets, inventory destruction. However, this model is becoming less viable due to an increasingly demanding regulatory framework and growing pressure to manage products more responsibly.

The entry into force of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) (EU) 2024/1781 coincided with the victory. The regulation progressively limits the destruction of certain unsold textile products. It also forces companies to rethink their surplus management, seeking a balance between profitability, sustainability and brand value protection.

Scarcity gains traction as a strategy

Some emerging brands are exploring a different approach based on scarcity, experience or made-to-order production. TwoJeys, for example, whose own logo revolves around two stars, has found a golden opportunity in this victory. The brand has launched a limited drop in collaboration with New Era, featuring a red cap with gold embroidery, the letters “TJ” in a handwritten style, the two stars and the date on the side panel. In fact, Keyne Yamal, the younger brother of Lamine Yamal — who became one of the World Cup's off-pitch stars — was seen wearing it in photos after the match yesterday.

Nude Project went a step further with a collection of seven garments that nobody could actually buy. Each piece was produced as a single unit; one garment for one person. To get one, people had to enter a raffle by purchasing a one-euro ticket, with a draw held after each of Spain's victories. The winner of the raffle held after the semi-final also received a double pass to attend the final in person.

Pressure from the parallel market

The battle to capitalise on a sporting success is not fought solely through official channels. These types of events drive demand for all kinds of merchandise, fuelling a parallel market that remains a major challenge for brands and sports federations.

Although counterfeiting is heavily prosecuted in Spain, the parallel market for sports shirts remains significant. Just a month ago, the police seized 16 tonnes of counterfeit shirts in an operation that resulted in nearly one hundred arrests. The seized material included around 66,000 shirts that the organisations could have sold for about two million euros on the black market, causing losses of up to seven million euros for official channels.

Industry estimates reflect the scale of the problem. According to data from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), only about 20 percent of the World Cup shirts worn by Spanish fans are genuine.