​Adidas is closing its long-standing partnership with the German national football team after 72 years, with Die Mannschaft set to switch to Nike starting next year. The long-awaited final home and away kits, which were worn at the 2026 World Cup (we’ll skip commenting on the tournament results), mark the end of an era as Germany unveils its ultimate Adidas kit for the year’s conclusion.
Adidas hasn’t often produced a black-based kit that disappoints, whether for Germany or for Bayern Munich. Consider past examples that have proven the label’s knack for solid black designs: the 2020/21 away kit, the 2016 and 2024 goalkeeper kits from the Euros in those years, the 2024 pre-match training shirt, the 2010 away kit, the 2025/26 third kit, the 2021/22 away kit, and the 2014/15 and 2015/16 away kits. The list could go on; black kits tend to be among Adidas’s most successful templates for prominent teams, and that pattern holds here as well.
Granted, Germany’s final Adidas kit does bear a resemblance to a Wolverhampton Wanderers shirt from 1996/97 or to a reversed 2015/16 Hull City home kit. Yet I don’t take issue with it. Perhaps it’s partly sentiment—this is Germany’s last Adidas kit ever—and partly a personal preference: I’ve never fully embraced Nike’s kit designs. The combination of nostalgia, the significance of the moment, and a personal stance on Nike kits all contribute to a more forgiving view of this final Adidas offering.
As Germany transitions to Nike for the first time in more than seven decades, the end of an era invites reflection on Adidas’s impact on the German national team’s branding and identity. The collaboration has produced countless iconic looks, from the classic three-stripe aesthetic to bold, modern iterations that have defined generations of players and fans alike. With this final Adidas kit, the chapter closes on a tenure that helped shape the visual language of German football for generations.
In sum, the departure of Adidas, while bittersweet, also opens a new chapter under Nike’s banner. The last Adidas kit serves as a ceremonial bridge between the storied past and an uncertain yet exciting future, inviting supporters to celebrate the enduring legacy of Germany’s kits while looking forward to what Nike will bring to the team’s on-field identity in the years to come.