EXCLUSIVE: 00Nation secures adidas partnership in pivot to lifestyle vertical

Image credit: 00Nation

Norwegian esports organisation 00Nation has announced a partnership with global sportswear brand adidas.

As a result of the deal, adidas has become 00Nation’s main partner and will be the organisation’s official supplier of sports clothing and lifestyle apparel-wear.

According to 00Nation, the organisation was introduced to adidas through a joint collaboration between adidas and Norwegian football club Vålerenga Football in 2021. At the time, 00Nation led the creative work for the announcement. 

00Nation becomes the latest esports organisation to join forces with the sportswear brand. European organisations G2 Esports and Team Vitality, as well as Korean team DWG KIA, are among the list of adidas’ esports partners.

Steffen Willumsen, Chief Commercial Officer at 00Nation, told Esports Insider that esports’ popularity surge — particularly among youth and young adults — is one of the primary reasons why more traditional sports clothing brands are teaming up with esports organisations.

Willumsen also added that the organisation’s adidas collaboration demonstrates 00Nation’s growth over the last 12 months. He said: “The partnership with adidas is, without doubt, a landmark partnership for us as it is close to a manifestation of us moving exclusively from esports over to both competitive gaming and lifestyle verticals such as fashion.”

00Nation’s continued shift to diversify its operations shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. When Nordavind rebranded to 00Nation in September last year, there was already a clear indication that the organisation wanted to be involved in both esports and gaming.

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The Norwegian organisation, which also has a large Brazilian presence, primarily competes in CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege with Brazilian rosters. Earlier this week, 00Nation announced its departure from the Rocket League scene.

“We at adidas work hard to engage Generation Z through our pillars; sustainability, diversity, inclusion and credibility,” commented Oda Fredrikstad, Senior Brand & Omnichannel  Activation Manager at adidas Norge, via a release. “We feel that 00Nation is a natural choice for us in the work of engaging in the future, and we are very much looking forward to it!”

Adidas joins 00Nation’s growing commercial portfolio, which includes the likes of DNB, Lenovo and Microsoft XBOX. Earlier this month, 00Nation also announced peripherals brand Redragon as a sponsor of its Brazilian teams.

Tom Daniels
Tom has been part of Esports Insider's team since October 2020 and is currently the platform's Editor. When not playing Football Manager, he enjoys reporting on the mobile esports scene as well as the betting sector.