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What has been rumored for months (and much discussed yesterday) is now reality-officially. Roma and Nike have agreed to a ten year pact, making the global giant Roma's official clothier, covering all facets of Roma related garb, from the youth ranks to fan gear. However, the deal will not begin until the 2014-2015 season, so don't throw out your Kappas just yet.
While the specific terms of the deal haven't been released yet, it's speculated that Roma's deal will be similar to that of Manchester United, who receive a fixed royalty fee from Nike, as well as a percentage of all goods sold worldwide. I know that link made the rounds yesterday, but it includes some very telling facts, figures and quotes, including some details on Roma's near 20% increase in sponsorship and hospitality deals.
The words of Roma's marketing director Chistoph Winterling are particularly telling:
This is a very crucial decision for the club because a technical sponsor can ensure you global distribution, global visibility, and help increase business. This deal will give the club a very, very important future. Together with the technical sponsor, we will also invest in different areas in and around the new stadium...We're looking for more and more global companies, we know that we need global companies for us to grow and for us to get more money. The money is honestly very limited in Italy if we want to grow, so we have to look for big partners
If you thought Roma's quest for global domination was a joke, clearly you were wrong. How one feels about this depends on your relationship with the club, you're either horrified at the supposed loss of the club's soul or titillated by the prospect of Roman economic hegemony. There is no equivocation when it comes to the club's intention, however, they're going in full bore.
In other news, there will be ascension in Roma soon, and I'm not talking about the Giallorossi's rise in the table. This particular ascension apparently holds more sway, as the Vatican Conclave might give this weekend's Roma-Parma match the boot amid security concerns.
Not exactly breaking news, but this is a Chiesa, after all.