Adidas British and Irish Lions Partnership to end- B & I Lions to look for new kit deal

Click here to see the new British Lions NZ Tour Shirt 2017- released November 1, 2016

Click here to read- Lions to wear Canterbury kits on 2017 tour- announced 5 November, 2015

Adidas have officially announced that they will be ending their 18 year association with the British and Irish Lions. The Lions first wore Adidas on the 1997 tour to South Africa, and wore Adidas designed strips on their 2013 tour to Australia. However Adidas’ new £750m investment into a new shirt partnership with Premier League giants Manchester United has meant downsizing on other fronts, and the Lions are apparently one of the victims, with the German kit manufacturer not choosing to extend the contract despite the shirts selling well.

The new kit partner for the Lions on their 2017 tour to New Zealand has not been officially decided but it appears that Canterbury will probably be the replacement.

The Lions first wore Adidas on their 1997 tour to South Africa (they wore Nike on the 1993 tour to New Zealand). Adidas have therefore been the official suppliers to the B&I Lions in 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013. We’ll leave your with pics of the Lions 1997 and 2013 jerseys.

British Lions 1997 Shirt Adidas

New British and Irish Lions 2013 Jersey

5 thoughts on “Adidas British and Irish Lions Partnership to end- B & I Lions to look for new kit deal

  1. So that leaves who exactly to manufacture the shirts? Nike – hope not, Puma – god no. Canterbury – possibly. BLK/ Kooga – maybe, kukri – outside chance, Macron – not bad material. Not too many other choices to be frank. Bad news from Adidas.

  2. Fingers crossed they don’t sell out and jump on the band wagon with a second rate Kukri, BLK, ISC, Macron etc. If not Adidas especting the jersey would mean chosing an established brand either Nike or Under Armour, Asics or my first choice Canterbury. Looking forward to seeing what happens.

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