The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Much-criticised World Cup venue Manaus stages first game Posted: 10 Mar 2014 08:55 AM PDT Local side Nacional drew 2-2 with Remo yesterday in the Amazonia Arena which was used even though sections are still incomplete. The stadium can seat 44,500 but only parts of the ground were opened for the game. The Manaus venue was supposed to be completed by December. Now that it has been used, only the stadiums in Cuiaba, Curitiba and Sao Paulo are still not ready. Brazil host Croatia in Sao Paulo's Corinthians Arena in the opening World Cup match on June 12. The official cost of the Manaus venue, one of the most criticised of the 12 grounds, was put at 669.5 million reals (RM938.18 million). "For me, this is the most beautiful stadium along with Natal," Ricardo Trade, executive director of the local organising committee, told the government's official World Cup website. City officials said there was still work to do after long queues formed at concession stands, adding that new partners were needed to run bars and restaurants at the ground. "We were prepared for any kind of uncertainty but not to sell," said Miguel Capobiango, the local official in charge of preparations. "We need another operator to give us that support." Many believe the stadium in Manaus is the leading contender to be an unused white elephant once the World Cup ends on July 13. The city does not have a team in Brazil's top three divisions and the average attendance of Nacional is 1,963, according to the sports consultancy firm Pluri Consultoria. Manaus, a four-hour flight from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, has also come under scrutiny by some of the teams that will play there. Italy take on England in Manaus on June 14 while Portugal face the United States eight days later. Cameroon also meet Croatia there and Honduras face Switzerland. Before the draw was made for the group stages, England manager Roy Hodgson said he wanted to avoid Manaus because it was hot and humid and far away. Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld also said it was "almost irresponsible" to stage matches in the city. – Reuters, March 10, 2014. |
| Adidas and Nike battle for football supremacy in World Cup year Posted: 10 Mar 2014 08:36 AM PDT The sportswear giants dominate a soccer kit industry worth more than US$5 billion (RM16.4 billion) annually. They vie for the title of market leader in the supply of high-tech boots and jerseys to fans inspired by Argentine Lionel Messi, who wears Adidas, or new Brazilian idol Neymar, who is in the Nike camp. A bootmaker since the 1950s and a World Cup sponsor, Germany's Adidas regards soccer as its territory and wants to avoid being overtaken by younger but larger American rival Nike, as has happened in other sports. "Forget all you may have heard or written about a weak Adidas performance in football in 2013. We are leading this category that is so close to the Adidas DNA," chief executive Herbert Hainer said last week. "2014 is a football year and it will be an Adidas football year," he added, targeting record annual soccer-related sales of 2 billion euros (RM9.2 billion). However, Hainer conceded that competition is fierce, with the top two brands sharing upwards of 80% of the market for many soccer products. Nike has built its business swiftly, having got heavily involved in soccer only 20 years ago when the World Cup was played in the United States. It generates revenues of US$2 billion from the sport and calls itself the leading soccer brand. It will provide kit for hosts Brazil and a total of 10 of the 32 finalists this year – outscoring Adidas and Puma in that regard. Nike Brand President Trevor Edwards said sales should get an extra boost from the fact the World Cup is in Brazil, the spiritual home of stylish soccer. "We couldn't be more excited about the World Cup being in Brazil. It will resonate around the world," he said. Held every four years, the World Cup is a showcase for innovation in design of boots which the manufacturers claims will give players the edge in the big matches and hopefully go on to be big sellers throughout the rest of the year. "With replica kits, you will suddenly see an uptick in terms of sales during a tournament but with boots it's more continual," said Nike's Edwards. Nike last week launched its new Magista boot, based on the company's Flyknit technology in which the upper is made from knitted synthetic strands of material. The technology has been used for Nike's running and basketball shoes and the aim is to create a lightweight product which is also durable. Spanish international Andres Iniesta and German Mario Goetze were involved in developing the boot and Edwards said players wanted a "barefoot with studs" feel. Park players who want to emulate their World Cup heroes will have to dig deep into their wallets as the boot will cost US$275. There are only so many ways a soccer boot can be remade and new products from Adidas and Puma draw on technologies and ideas that don't appear to differ radically from what Nike is doing. Adidas has already launched colourful "Samba" versions of its four main boots and will present its first "knitted" boot in mid-March. Hainer said the technology had the potential to revolutionise how and where Adidas produces shoes. Puma, based in the same small southern German town as Adidas, wants the World Cup to underline a shift back to performance sports and away from fashion. To that end, it has already launched a snug-fitting bright orange "evoPOWER" boot with yellow laces offset to one side. "It inspired by barefoot beach soccer in Brazil," Torsten Hochstetter, Puma global creative director, said. Technology is also being used in shirt design. Adidas says its World Cup shirts are 50% lighter than previous ones. Eight teams will wear Adidas at the tournament in June, including world champions Spain, Germany and Argentina. Puma launched shirts last week for the eight sides it is outfitting at the World Cup, including Italy, Switzerland and four teams from Africa. The tight-fitting jerseys feature built-in tapes designed to stimulate players' muscles. "This is based on taping used by physios to provide compression and stimulation," Hochstetter said. Just like team coaches, the big brands are deploying a variety of tactics to try to gain an advantage. Nike used a Brazil friendly match against South Africa last week to model two kits, playing in the traditional yellow in the first half before switching to a new blue outfit for the second half. Adidas has stressed the importance of social media to its marketing campaigns. In a sign of the times, its Brazuca official World Cup match ball has its own Twitter account offering its thoughts in English and Portuguese. Unlikely as it sounds, the ball already has over 100,000 followers. – Reuters, March 10, 2014. |
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