Launch Date: Botafogo's CEO Announces When Reebok Kits Will Be Used
Update: Amidst the enormous excitement of the fans and kits enthusiasts, Botafogo has confirmed the launch date of the new Reebok shirts for 2023-2024.
In an interview for a Brazilian podcast, the club's CEO, Thairo Arruda, confirmed that the new kits will be used in-game by the team for the first time on July 30th, in a Brasileirão match against Coritiba. Furthermore, he revealed that the official launch should take place a few days earlier, giving the date of the 27 of July as the current plan.
He also shared a few more details, such as the fact that the design and adjustments were meticulously taken care of by John Textor, the club's owner (also the owner of Lyon), stating that he even forced some changes regarding the collar.
MantosdoFutebol.com.br, who broke this news, stated that the new Home and Away uniforms will have references to Rio de Janeiro, such as details resembling the Copacabana sidewalk in the seams, and the third uniform, black, will have images of idols, such as Nilton Santos and Garrincha, as a watermark.
Another shared detail was in relation to the training kits, which according to the CEO, are amazing designs and considerably cheaper than the match kits, foreseeing that they will be the more popular choice.
Update: Botafogo have officially announced their long-rumoured deal with Reebok, confirming the brand's return to club football.
Botafogo Announce Reebok Deal
The club announced the deal on their social media channels a couple of days ago, after months of speculation on the partnership. The contract will run for three years, starting in early 2023 ahead of the beginning of the Brasilerao campaign.
Thanks to Reebok's global supply chain and international presence, Botafogo gear could be sold in 80 countries around the world. This increased overseas reach was previously stated as one of the main objectives for owner, John Textor, when finding a new kit manufacturer.
Are you excited to see Reebok's first kits for Botafogo? Comment below.
Update: Reports in Brazil claim that Botafogo's deal with Reebok is almost complete and should come into effect from 2023.
Botafogo to Sign Reebok Kit Deal
Botafogo owner John Textor started the rumour of a Reebok comeback earlier this year and it looks like there was truth to it, as Globo report that a deal between the two is in the final stages of negotiations. Botafogo have been wearing unbranded kits since the end of their Kappa contract and they are expected to continue doing so until the end of the Campeonato Carioca.
Botafogo's current goalkeeper, home and away shirts.
Reebok's first shirts for the club should come out in early 2023. The historic brand's recently announced deal with the Panama national team also starts in the new year, so we should have both club and international releases from Reebok dropping around the same time.
Mock-up created by @Sportix- on FifaKitCreator.com.
The partnership has not yet been confirmed by either party but we expect that an announcement will be made soon. What other clubs would you like to see Reebok team up with as they get back into the game? Comment below.
Original article:Reebok could be on the verge of making a comeback to football in a deal with Botafogo.
New Botagofo Owner Cancels Club Kit Deal & More Sponsor Deals, Has Links to Reebok
The news comes from comments made by the Brazilian club’s majority shareholder, John Textor, who explained that he cancelled the club’s deal with Volt Sportswear due to concerns over the limited distribution that they were offering. The deal was due to commence this year, taking over from Kappa, but Textor is determined to strike a deal with a brand that has a global distribution network. Thanks to @mantosdofutebol on Twitter for the tip off.
Reebok's last football kit was released in the 2013-14 season
Reebok shirts have not been seen on a football pitch since the 13/14 season, when Bloemfontein Celtic wore Reebok strips in the South African Premier Division, with the brand since withdrawing from the sport completely. Adidas had owned Reebok since 2006 but sold the brand to Authentic Brands Group for somewhere in the region of $2.1 billion in August 2021. It is John Textor’s business links to the CEO of Authentic Brands Group, Jamie Salter, which could be the catalyst for Reebok’s return to the sport with Botafogo as their first new team.
Botoafogo's most recent kit produced by Kappa and the last Reebok kit used in competition, Bloemfontein Celtic away 13/14
In a video with a Botofaogo Youtube channel, Textor discussed the search for a new technical sponsor, saying that Reebok “have a desire to re-enter football” and Authentic Brands Group “have huge global distribution of stores, it’s potential that we could end up working with someone like that, who would not only bring a great brand with a desire to get back into football, but who also have great global distribution.”
John Textor speaks about the potential Reebok deal from the 4-minute mark onwards
“Certainly we’re going to talk to Reebok, but we’re also going to talk to the other major brands, Puma, Adidas, Nike…”
He says that “The most important brand should always be the Botafogo brand, not the Nike swoosh or the Puma cat, but those brands give you big distribution and big exposure and that’s really what we’re talking about.”
The matter of selling shirts worldwide is a major motivating factor for clubs when agreeing deals with brands. A similar concern about global exposure and distribution was cited by Liverpool when they made the switch from New Balance to Nike, which led to a court case that Liverpool and Nike won.
After a long absence from the game, it would be very interesting to see what kind of designs Reebok would come up with if they were to make a comeback. In the 90s and 2000s they produced some iconic kits for the likes of Chile, Argentina, Liverpool and Fiorentina, before fading gradually out of sight completely. They had been rumoured to become AS Roma’s new kit supplier before New Balance signed a contract with the Giallorossi last summer.
Would you be happy to see Reebok kits on the pitch and in the shops again? Have you got a favourite shirt of theirs from their glory days? Let us know in the comments.
