Adidas banking on players rather than teams at Euro 2016

Adidas, Nike, and Puma will be relying more on individuals to sell football boots, shirts and accessories during Euro 2016 over the coming month.

The tournament is this year’s top event for the world’s biggest sports-gear suppliers.

Adidas, roughly tied for market share with Nike in the $5bn (€4.4bn) global soccer-gear market, is banking on top players’ ability to reach fans directly and shifting a larger part of its $2.7bn annual marketing budget toward them compared with the big team sponsorships that defined its past.