SINGAPORE — The next time you buy a pair of football boots or jersey, you will play a small, but no less significant part, of a global battle: The “other World Cup”.

That is because for every S$299 top-end adizero F50 adidas boots or S$399 Nike Magista boots purchased, you will be contributing to the ongoing race for global supremacy between adidas and Nike, the world’s two leading sportswear and equipment brands.

The World Cup, which kicks off on Friday (Singapore time), is but a mere gladiatorial ring that pops up every four years.

Although Nike is younger than adidas, it is now the world’s leading sportswear brand, with US$25 billion (S$31.2 billion) in revenue, or about 17 per cent of the global market share, compared with its German rival, which holds about 12 per cent of the pie, reported Bloomberg.

With adidas still the world’s No 1 football brand, this World Cup will be that big opportunity for Nike to close the gap on its biggest rival.

Despite its relatively small market size, sales in Singapore do contribute to the overall picture.

“Football is an important category for adidas in Singapore,” Mr Hermann Seet, adidas’ senior category manager for football, told TODAY. “To consumers, it defines us as a brand and they see us as the leaders in football ... it is our goal to ensure that we deliver to, and ideally exceed the aspirations and needs of, our consumers and athletes in Singapore as much as anywhere (else) in the world.”

Since adidas’ World Cup-related products went on sale in Singapore in February this year, its Predator, F50 and Nitrocharge silos have been the most popular boots, with Germany its top-selling national jersey, followed by Japan, Spain and Argentina.

The Brazuca, the tournament’s official match ball which retails at S$189, is another bestseller in Singapore. Globally, adidas is targeting a record €2 billion (S$3.4 billion) in revenue from football this year.

Latest sales figures are not available, although Mr Seet described them as “above our expectations”. Industry watchers believe this World Cup could be the closest battle yet between the two brands.

Nike is outfitting 10 out of the 32 national teams compared to adidas’ nine. Crucially, Nike sponsors hosts Brazil, as it seeks to make inroads into South America’s largest market.

“Nike’s sponsorship of the hosts’ national football team alone gives them a massive competitive edge,” Euromonitor analyst Magdalena Kondej told Reuters.

adidas and Nike will depend a lot on their biggest names in their marketing campaigns — adidas recently unveiled its latest commercial featuring stars David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura.

Collated from more than 6,500 people in 13 countries, a study by Repucom revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo, a Nike asset, is the most globally recognised player at 83.87 per cent, followed by adidas-sponsored Lionel Messi (76.07 per cent).

“Endorsements of celebrities and in this case footballers have an incredibly powerful way of doing just that — creating an emotional connection with a brand,” said Repucom CEO Paul Smith.

“The star can raise awareness and create a buzz for brands and products at a time when breaking through the marketing clutter that surrounds such huge events is critical for commercial success.”