Nike News Release -- www.nikeinc.com
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Following the sale of the Umbro Brand by NIKE, Inc., the sponsorship of United Soccer Leagues (USL) has transferred from Umbro to Nike, effective immediately. The sponsorship will continue to involve support of USL PRO teams and events.
The USL is the organizer of several soccer leagues with teams in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It includes men's and women's leagues. In 2011 it also assumed the operations of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
“We are really excited to be developing the relationship between USL and NIKE, Inc. and look forward working with USL and member teams to elevate the game of soccer in the U.S,” commented U.S. Soccer Sports Marketing Director, Joe Elsmore.
“We are very excited about this new partnership with Nike,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said. “We’ve gone from a partnership with an iconic soccer brand to a partnership with the world’s biggest sports and soccer brand, which is great news for everyone involved with USL. We expect this relationship to benefit all USL clubs, and we are eager to start working with Nike to develop programs that will benefit USL’s properties both now and in the future.”