Uruguay is a semifinalist in the Copa America. On Wednesday, Marcelo Bielsa’s side will play against Colombia for a chance to reach their first Copa America final since 2011, when Uruguay won their 15th Copa America crown. For Colombia, it would be their first final since 2001, which they won on home soil.
A major change for Uruguay in this Copa America has been not only their style of play but also who dresses the national team. After a lengthy battle with their local TV rights provider, the federation finally regained control over who dresses the national team, thus ending La Celeste’s longstanding contract with Puma when said contract expired in December of 2023.
The AUF issued a call to all uniform suppliers and, after discussions with Adidas, eventually settled on Nike as the official kit supplier for the Copa America. Unfortunately, the current deal will make this Uruguay kit a collector’s item, as the jersey will not be sold to the public.
Why won’t the Uruguay Nike kit be sold?
Due to a certain loophole in the contract with Puma, the brand still has time to improve its offer to the AUF to return as the national team’s uniform supplier. Until then, the federation continues to negotiate with brands to take over as the uniform supplier after the Copa America.
Nike’s presence is more of a “wait and see” scenario, as Nike provides the kits only for the Copa America. The AUF paid Nike to supply enough kits for the tournament, making it impossible for the kits to go on sale to the general public.
Nike, along with Under Armour, are the brands that could potentially continue as the official kit supplier of the Uruguayan national team from August 2024 onward.
For now, Nike is doing a lot of branding with Uruguay’s stars, but the fans are left out in the cold.