Over the past decade, Nike has been snapping at the heels of Adidas, the German sportswear giant that has strong ties with Fifa, the world football governing body. "Umbro is a brand with a powerful heritage and deep experience in the world's most popular sport," says Nike CEO Mark Parker. Adidas decided not to bid for Umbro.

Nike has agreed that Umbro will keep its headquarters in the U.K., and that the brand will retain the Umbro name and its focus on football above other sports. Nike won the backing of The Football Association, which could have been a stumbling block because of a change of ownership clause in the contract between the sport's governing body in England and Umbro.

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