Warriors sign US$11.5m Adidas deal

The deal was signed at the Westin Leipzig Hotel in Leipzig, Germany.

A couple hours after head coach Leo Beenhakker arrived from Eindhoven, Netherlands on a private jet, special advisor Jack Warner, TTFF President Oliver Camps and General Secretary Richard Groden signed the deal with Herbert Hainer, Chief Executive Officer of Adidas-Solomon AG World of Sports.

The deal, hailed by Warner in the presence of the Adidas officials, is the most lucrative ever signed by the Football Federation and has come about largely due to the recent success of the Soca Warriors.

Warner said the deal was agreed upon even before TT secured their 2006 World Cup berth with a 1-0 win over Bahrain last month but was formalised a day before the World Cup draw in Leipzig.

The deal package is inclusive of cash and full gear and equipment, not only for the World Cup team, but for all other national teams and TTFF-related business.

"This is the kind of good fortune that I have dreamt of and laboured hard for together with my other colleagues and the players that represent the country," Warner said at the signing which was also filmed by German TV.

"To have a sponsorship deal that is worth $11.5 US dollars over four years speaks volumes and is fantastic in every regard. I know that Adidas also sponsors a few other national teams in the western part of the world but for us to now be in the same league with the likes of Argentina is tremendous at that but hopefully we will not end up in the same group as them," Warner said with a laugh. Adidas also sponsor Canada, Venezuela and Guatemala from South America and CONCACAF and is widely known for working with the Germans as well.

"We certainly don’t (want you in same group with Argentina) as well because we obviously intend to see both teams through to the second stage and beyond in next year’s World Cup," Hainer said.

Warner, delighted with the deal, said he hoped that it would be looked at as an achievement by the TTFF and the Soca Warriors but in no way be seen by other corporate bodies as a way of decreasing what he hopes will be further assistance from them towards the national team, particularly following the success of qualification and in light of preparing for the finals.

He also said that former kit sponsors Finta would be paid off and that Adidas overcame stiff challenges from Puma and Nike for the rights to have their brand associated with the Soca Warriors. "They agreed on this deal even before we qualified and it demonstrates the sort of faith they had in our country and we shall reciprocate this through your company in more ways than you can imagine," he said. "We shall serve you proudly and we shall wear your uniform with dignity and respect and I want to give you the assurance on behalf of the TTFF and the team that we shall be a winning and an able partner," added Warner.

He also made special mention of Robin McCammon, the Clubs and Federations Senior Manager for Adidas and also of Global Sports Marketing and TTFF’s Cheryl Abrams for their part in putting together the deal.