PUMA Signs Blockbuster Long-Term Partnership With the Portuguese Football Federation

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 27, 2024--

Sports company PUMA has signed a long-term agreement with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), one of the world’s most popular national teams. Starting in 2025, PUMA will equip all male, female and youth teams as well as the federation’s futsal, beach football and E-Sports teams.

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Portugal, the 2016 European Champions and 2018/19 Nations League Winners, are known for their captivating style of play, which has earned them many fans all over the world and the largest number of followers on social media of any national football federation worldwide.

“Signing a top-tier national team was one of our priorities in football and I am very excited to welcome a team as popular as Portugal to the PUMA Family,” said Arne Freundt, PUMA CEO. “Given the large number of fans all over the world and the great potential of the next generation of this squad, we are looking forward to the upcoming big tournaments such as the 2026 World Cup.”

For PUMA, the deal offers the opportunity to continue writing Portuguese football history. In the 1960s, PUMA became the partner of legendary player Eusébio, known as “O Rei” (“The King”), for whom it created the iconic PUMA KING football boot. Eusébio was the top scorer of the 1966 World Cup when he led his team to a third place in the tournament.

“We were attracted to PUMA because of the way in which they engage with the fans and tell the unique story of every team they work with” said Fernando Gomes, President of the FPF. “We look forward to creating an exciting range of products with them which will resonate with our large fan base all over the world.”

PUMA will unveil the new products and its creative direction for the partnership in early 2025.

PUMA

PUMA is one of the world’s leading Sports Brands, designing, developing, selling, and marketing footwear, apparel, and accessories. For more than 70 years, PUMA has relentlessly pushed sport and culture forward by creating fast products for the world’s fastest athletes. PUMA offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as Football, Running and Training, Basketball, Golf, and Motorsports. It collaborates with renowned designers and brands to bring sport influences into street culture and fashion. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Cobra Golf and stichd. The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 16,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach/Germany.

Sports company PUMA has signed a long-term agreement with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), one of the world’s most popular national teams. Starting in 2025, PUMA will equip all male, female and youth teams as well as the federation’s futsal, beach football and E-Sports teams. (Photo: Business Wire)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy expanded at a healthy 2.8% annual pace from July through September on strong consumer spending and a surge in exports, the government said Wednesday, leaving unchanged its initial estimate of third-quarter growth.

The Commerce Department reported that growth in U.S. gross domestic product — the economy's output of goods and services — slowed from the April-July rate of 3%.

But the GDP report still showed that the American economy — the world's largest — is proving surprisingly durable. Growth has topped 2% for eight of the last nine quarters.

Still, American voters — exasperated by high prices — were unimpressed by the steady growth and chose this month to return Donald Trump to the White House to overhaul the nation's economic policies. He will be supported by Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, accelerated to a 3.5%% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.8% in the April-June period and fasted growth since the first quarter of 2023. Exports also contributed to the third quarter’s growth, increasing at a 7.5% rate, most in two years. Still, the third-quarter growth in both consumer spending and exports was lower than the Commerce Department initially estimated.

But growth in business investment slowed sharply on a drop in investment in housing and in nonresidential buildings such as offices and warehouses. By contrast, spending on equipment surged.

When he takes office next month, President-elect Trump will inherit an economy that looks broadly healthy.

Growth is steady. Unemployment is low at 4.1%. Inflation, which hit a four-decade high 9.1% in June 2022, has fallen to 2.6%. That is still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, but the central bank felt satisfied enough with the progress against inflation to cut its benchmark interest rate in September and again this month. Most Wall Street traders expect the Fed to cut rates again in December.

The public still feels inflation's sting: Prices are about 20% higher than they were in February 2021, just before inflation started picking up

Trump has promised an economic shakeup. On Monday, for example, he vowed to slap new import taxes on goods from China, Mexico and Canada. Mainstream economists view such taxes — or tariffs — as inflationary. That is because they are paid by U.S. importers, who then seek to pass along the higher costs to their customers.

Wednesday's report was the second of three looks at third-quarter GDP. The Commerce Department will issue the final report on Dec. 19.

FILE - In this image taken with a drone, Jason Kwapi operates a combine, at left, during soybean harvesting on the Voss farm near Palo, Iowa, Oct. 2, 2024. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette via AP, File)