Adidas shares dash forward because of early demand for World Cup soccer merchandise

Adidas shares have sprinted ahead as it said its profits and sales have been boosted by early demand for World Cup football products.

Building excitement for the FIFA tournament has resulted in sales rising 14pc to £5.7billion over the first three months of 2026. Sales have been driven by demand for football kits and limited edition match balls.

And it is also enjoying ‘momentum’ from a range of away jerseys for different countries participating in the tournament, which cost up to £120 and were released last month.

The sportswear giant rose 8pc on the Frankfurt stock exchange. It was another boost after Sabastian Sawe became the first person to run an official marathon in under two hours wearing Adidas trainers.

Chief executive Bjørn Gulden described the World Cup, which kicks off in June, as ‘a fantastic event that will be great for us.’

Footwear giant Adidas is hoping the World Cup will help sales of its football kits and balls soar

It comes as the group warned that retail was ‘currently very volatile’ and it is competing with ‘heavy discounts’ from rivals, especially on casual sneakers.

Adding to its historic ‘sneaker war’ with major rival Nike, Adidas has faced fierce competition from challengers, such as On and Hoka, in recent years. It axed 500 jobs at its German HQ last year.

But it hailed a victory at the London Marathon last weekend when Sawe completed the race in one hour 59 minutes and 30 seconds. He was wearing Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 trainers, which go on sale on Thursday and cost £450.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: ‘The company was already basking in success at the London Marathon where the winners in both the men’s and women’s categories wore its shoes. Adidas is purposely trying not to overstock the market with its products given widespread discounting among retailers.

‘Attention now turns to the World Cup where Adidas hopes a summer of sport will drive even more sales across its product range.’

Fitness brands are cashing in on the growing popularity of running sparked by the pandemic and health-conscious youngsters – there was a 105 per cent rise in entries from runners in their 20s for last year’s London Marathon.

And Adidas said its performance division – which includes products related to football and running – saw sales rise 29 per cent over the first quarter.

But the brand said that ‘several countries’ in the Middle East had seen sales fall ​due to the Iran war.

‘Stores ​in many of these markets (have) ⁠been impacted when war activities are going on. And of course, if you have bomb alarms in a market, that means that the authorities tell you not to open your ​stores,’ boss Gulden told reporters.

The war is also looming large over consumer confidence worldwide, as households fear energy and grocery bills will rise in the coming months – posing a fresh challenge for retailers.