The Story Behind Nike’s Jordan Brand Sponsoring PSG

The iconic Jordan brand has replaced Nike as PSG’s official kit supplier for Champions League matches.

A basketball brand partners with a football club

The partnership between the Parisians and Nike’s basketball brand can be viewed as a ‘marketing experiment’ as they’ve only agreed to wear the Jordan badge for the 2018/19 Champions League matches.

Providers of internet betting in France view this as a move by the American sportswear giant to promote the Jordan across the world, but especially in Europe, which has been dominated by the football-related marketing sponsorships.

“Jordan Brand and Paris Saint-Germain share a distinct position in sport and lifestyle, so to partner with the club is a natural fit,” said Michael Jordan, the basketball star after whom the brand got its name.

PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi said the synergy of PSG and the Jordan brand will help them grow into new markets, as they look to maximize their appeal with sports enthusiasts.

“The partnership between Paris Saint-Germain and Jordan Brand reflects the ambition of both brands to combine style, performance and innovation,” highlighted the PSG President. “We share many values with Jordan Brand, which is known worldwide for its sporting heritage and exciting contemporary designs. We believe is a partnership which will excite our fans, help us to reach new audiences and enhance our global reach.”

The elite European competition attracts millions of viewers, which will help boost the brand on the continent and globally as well, while ensuring that – in case it fails to be marketable -it doesn’t jeopardize Nike’s sponsorship of PSG in the long-run.

Nike have previously used Neymar (one of Nike’s ambassador heavyweights) and the Jordan brand to combine them into one product, which resulted in specialized Jordan shoes with Neymar’s insignia and also conversely – Neymar football boost with the Jordan brand on it.

Champions League remains the biggest objective for PSG

With the firepower they’ve got at their disposal, PSG will easily seal another Ligue 1 title; there’s virtually no competition for them domestically, so it’s practically a given they’ll be the champions at the end of the season. However, the same cannot be said for their biggest ambitions, and that is success in Europe.

The measure for a club’s biggest achievement lies with winning the Champions League, which has so far been elusive to PSG and their vast riches that has seen them buy the best (and most expensive) players for that particular purpose.

Online sportsbooks in France are giving them low chances of success in the elite competition this season yet again, with Unibet Sportsbook offering odds of 10.00 (9/1) for PSG to win the Champions League outright – that being the sixth favourite odds. If they were to finish in the top 2, the odds are somewhat more favourable, 5.00 (4/1), which is far more likely.

(Check out Unibet Sportsbook review for more info about the online betting site.)