NIKE is expected to be announced as the first major sponsor of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
The deal is the final stages of negotiation by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Properties, the joint sales venture of Los Angeles and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) launched in January, Sports Business Journal reported.
It is reported that the deal will include outfitting the American teams competing at Los Angeles 2028, volunteer uniforms and merchandise that will be sold to the public.
The deal will be the first step towards the sponsorship target of $2.5 billion set by Los Angeles 2028.
Some industry experts have estimated that Nike could pay as much as $200 million to be a sponsor because of the merchandising, licensing and promotional potential of a deal with Los Angeles 2028—the first summer Olympic Games to be held in the US after 32 years.
Nike has been a USOC footwear and apparel sponsor since 2005, and its current agreement, believed to be worth about $4 million annually, runs until the end of next year.
The company already has deals Major League Baseball and National Football League until 2030 and USA Track and Field until 2040.
Karate, meanwhile, will step up its campaign to reverse a decision not to include it on the program of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris by meeting French officials.
World Karate Federation (WKF) President Antonio Espinós is due to hold talks with Paris 2024 following an announcement last month that the sport had not been chosen as one of their optional sports.
Espinós will be accompanied by Francis Didier, president of the French Karate Federation (FFK), and Toshi Nagura, secretary-general of the WKF.
“This meeting will aim to convince the OCOG [Organising Committee of the Olympic Games] to the full additional sports program for the 2024 Olympic games with karate,” the FFK said on its Facebook page.
Karate is due to make its Olympic debut in Tokyo next year but was not chosen by Paris 2024.
They chose instead sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing—all part of the Tokyo 2020 program—along with, controversially, breakdancing.
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