For his second Italian National Team kit design, Barrett’s signature styling of clean lines, slim tailoring and layered garments come to the forefront. A deep v-neck revealing the new FIGC badge on an azzuri blue underlay creates a statement look for the team. The distinctive styling of the white v-neck creates a sophisticated, yet understated feel. This deep v-neck technique also hints at the team’s new 2006 home kit to be released on March 1st.

“Launched under the tag ‘Italians Look Better,’ the kit embodies the charisma of the team,” said Filip Trulsson, PUMA Teamsport Business Unit Manager. “Italians are known for their inherent style and we think it’s a necessity to maintain this essence of fashion when creating the football kit for the team. Through Barrett’s vision and our internal design talent, we are continually able to deliver a performance kit with unique visual interest and appeal.”

Over the past two years, Neil Barrett has worked closely with PUMA’s design team merging the brand’s technical sport integrity with his fashion sensibility. All of the garments, from the playing kit to the team apparel, utilize proven functional materials and cut lines to provide optimum performance. The shirt introduces a new groundbreaking woven rip-stop fabric, specially developed for PUMA in close co-operation with Toray Textiles and Manchester Metropolitan University.The woven fabric is extremely lightweight, carries outstanding wicking properties and has limited stretch to prevent shirt pulling.

In addition to the playing kit and selected team wear, a new FIFA-approved ball will be launched for the Italian National team – the v1.06. Introducing a new-patented panel concept based on a verified geometrical approach, this construction secures the roundest, most technically advanced ball on the market. Continuing with PUMA’s patented dimple technology, the new v1.06 ball delivers more speed, more distance and improved trajectory.

About Neil Barrett
Of British descent, Neil Barrett’s professional history is thoroughly Italian, including five years as Senior Menswear Designer at Gucci, four years as Design Director of Prada Menswear and launching his own brand name collection in 1999 produced by among others, the Prada Group and Allegri. For further information, please visit www.neilbarrett.com

“The announcement of the long-term strategic partnership with the Italian Football Association underlines PUMA’s reinforced commitment to further strengthen its position as one of the leading football brands,” said Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG, and continued: “The Italian National Team, more than any other national team property in world football, perfectly embodies PUMA’s unique sportlifestyle positioning and we are delighted about the extension of this already successful collaboration.”

This announcement coincides with the introduction of the new 2006 Italy National Team away kit designed by PUMA in collaboration with Neil Barrett. The away kit will make its debut in a friendly against Holland in Amsterdam on November 12th and will also be worn by Gli Azzurri in a friendly game against fellow PUMA team Ivory Coast on November 16th in Geneva.

Italy, whose honors include three FIFA World Cup titles (1934, 1938 & 1982), a UEFA European Championship title (1968) and one Olympic Gold medal (1936), has qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany securing first place ahead of Group 5 qualification contenders Norway, Scotland, Slovenia, Belarus and Moldova.

“The co-operation with the Saudi Arabian Football Association clearly underlines PUMA’s commitment to the middle east region,” said Oliver Wirth, Managing Director of PUMA’s newly founded subsidiary PUMA Middle East, and continued: “Having qualified for the last four football world championships is a record that speaks for itself. Clearly, it is a great statement for PUMA to be associated with the region’s most successful national team.”

Saudi Arabia will be endorsing PUMA’s new v1.06 statement product concept come 2006.

The Saudi Arabian Football Association was founded in 1959 and has been an affiliated AFC and FIFA member since the year it was founded. The Saudi national team is currently ranked 31st in the FIFA World Ranking and its major honors include three AFC Asian Cup titles (1984, 1988 and 1996) and two Gulf Cup winners’ medals (1994 and 2002). Saudi Arabia became the first AFC affiliated national team to win international honors when they won the FIFA U17 World Cup in 1989.

The Saudi Arabia national team has qualified for four successive football world championships. The team coached by former Argentine international Gabriel Calderon secured its ticket for Germany 2006, having won all six games against Stage 2 qualification contenders Turkmenistan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka before getting the upper hand on Stage 3 qualification opposition South Korea, Uzbekistan and Kuwait, maintaining their undefeated record with four wins and two draws.

With the play-offs now completed, the following PUMA contracted National Teams are confirmed for participation in next year’s major sporting event:

• Czech Republic
• Ghana
• Iran
• Italy
• Ivory Coast
• Paraguay
• Poland
• Saudi Arabia
• Switzerland
• Togo
• Tunisia

“This is a tremendous statement for PUMA and once again underlines our commitment to football with the aim of further strengthening PUMA as one of the leading football brands,” said Jochen Zeitz, CEO & Chairman of PUMA, and continued: “We take great pride in being the brand with most national teams at next year’s event and would like to congratulate all eleven Federations for their wonderful achievement as well as those PUMA associated Federations that battled hard throughout the qualification.”

All associated PUMA National Teams will be endorsing the brand’s new v1.06 statement product concept come 2006. The v1.06 statement product concept will be launched at the African Cup of Nations where PUMA again is the dominating brand with six national teams confirmed including: Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo and titleholders Tunisia.

Three of the African teams above, i.e. Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, make their debut at the World Cupä with Tunisia making their fourth appearance. For Saudi Arabia this has been the fourth successive successful qualification campaign with Iran bound to appear for the third time. For Paraguay and Poland, the upcoming finals represent their seventh appearance. Czech Republic and Switzerland will both be making the trip for the eighth time with Italy further enhancing their impressive record of sixteen appearances in total.

“The co-operation with the Angolan Football Federation is final confirmation of PUMA’s unparalleled involvement in African football,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman & CEO of PUMA A.G., and continued: “Needless to say, we are delighted to be the official supplier to all five African national teams for next year’s tournament in Germany, let alone the fact that we are the dominant kit supplier with a total of twelve teams come June next year.”

Angola will be endorsing PUMA’s new v1.06 statement product concept to be introduced in January, coinciding with the start of the 2006 CAF African Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Tournament debutants Angola successfully qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup having overcome Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Gabon, Algeria and Rwanda in Group 4 of the CAF qualification group stages. Angola, nicknamed ‘Palancas Negras’ (Black Antelopes), recorded this historic milestone following a 1-0 away win in Rwanda on the last day of qualifying to oust Nigeria at the top of the table, thereby putting an end to 21 years of longing.

UNISOL not only has valuable know-how of the local market, but also combines broad product and marketing experience with an extensive manufacturing background. Through this joint venture PUMA’s position in Argentina will be further strengthened and maximized. Argentina currently is the largest market for PUMA in Latin America.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG: “As licensee UNISOL have done an outstanding job in the past – not only in building the brand, but also in extending brand visibility. With the new partnership as well as our direct involvement in the management of all aspects of our brand, we will ensure that we jointly capitalize even more on future opportunities and further accelerate desirability throughout the South American market.”

Nisan Devecyan, Managing Partner of UNISOL S.A.: “We would like to thank PUMA for the trustful partnership over the past decades. Now with this joint venture cooperation we will be able to quickly explore the further potential in the Argentine market.”

“We are pleased to contribute to the mission of UNITED FOR AFRICA and their humanitarian efforts. With our number one position in African football, PUMA has a great opportunity to raise awareness and support the UNITED FOR AFRICA initiatives,” said Jochen Zeitz, PUMA Chairman and CEO.

As the current supplier to the Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia Football Associations, PUMA has a long history and strong affiliation with African Football. The 2006 partnership with UNITED FOR AFRICA is an extension of that commitment.

About UNITED FOR AFRICA

Under the patronage of German Federal President Horst Koehler, over thirty international charity organisations have joined forces through the initiative UNITED FOR AFRICA. The aim of UNITED FOR AFRICA is to act against the conception of Africa as the “lost continent” and to attract the attention of the public not only to the long-term plight and poverty of millions of people on the African continent, but also to their potential and the signs of hope.

This umbrella initiative maintains more than 5000 projects throughout the African continent. The variety of projects includes support for street children, orphanages, AIDS-education programs, and counselling for child soldiers. Helping people to help themselves is the aim of the local work that has been done by mainly African local staff. More details available at www.united-for-africa.org

Over a period of one year, two PUMA suppliers in El Salvador will be monitored particularly for the following topics: non-discrimination of women, freedom of association including the right to collective bargaining, and correct overtime and wage accounting. The codes of conduct from CCC and PUMA will act as guidelines in this process. In addition to unannounced factory visits, PUMA and CCC will also facilitate workshops and training for workers in order to more effectively include the employees in the social compliance process. PUMA and CCC will be supported by the independent local organisation “Grupo de Monitoreo Independiente de El Salvador” (GMIES) that enjoys great confidence among employees in El Salvador. GMIES will manage worker training together with the women’s organisation ORMUSA.

“We are looking forward to this new form of cooperation with Clean Clothes Campaign and we will use the gained experience for the further development of our social standards. This project shows that our way of constructive dialogue has lead to increased confidence in cooperating with NGOs. The cooperation with CCC will further contribute to more transparency and social accountability among our supply base.” says Martin Gaensler, Vice Chairman of the Board of Management at PUMA.

“For the Clean Clothes Campaign this cooperation is a challenging and innovative step at the same time. This project with PUMA puts workers and organizations of civil society in the centre. Based on two factories in El Salvador, the CCC hopes to achieve an examination, analysis and improvement of PUMA’s monitoring system, especially relating to gender-issues, as well as jointly working on questions of freedom of association and working hours.” says Maik Pflaum of the CCC.

Michael Dawson, Michael Carrick and Jermaine Jenas
“PUMA is delighted to have reached an agreement with Tottenham,” said Andrew Peters, Managing Director, PUMA UK. “They are a big club in the most watched league in the world, and as such are of course a very attractive proposition for us. Tottenham Hotspur are a significant part of our global investment and we are proud to be working with them and that they have chosen to partner with us.”

The new kit design will be the first playing shirt to feature the new Tottenham Hotspurs crest. The club will endorse PUMA’s new v1.06 line which is designed to get the players to the ball faster. The state of the art v1.06 products are revolutionary lightweight, have aerodynamic advantages and offer comfort through advanced technology, material selection and construction. The form and function of the v1.06 combine to create a radically different and distinctive product concept.

“PUMA is a top-quality brand and we look forward to enjoying a terrific partnership,” commented Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur. “I know PUMA will deliver an exceptional range of clothing for our fans as well as designing a stylish new kit for the upcoming season.”

Tottenham, whose honours include three European Cup titles, two league championships and countless English cup victories are currently ranked fourth in the league.

A panel of high profile judges led by actress Franka Potente, and including other celebrities such as Faithless front-man Maxi Jazz, world-class athlete Tim Lobinger, football-star Daniel van Buyten, acting shooting star Doreen Dietel and PUMA spokesperson Ulf Santjer will select the final dozen in April.

In May the 12 Adoptees will embark on a multi-city European tour. Here they will promote their home country in a unique and personal manner, helping to dispel myths and project a more realistic image of Germany. The Adoptees will record their exploits by personal blogs allowing them to interact with the citizens of the world and generate excitement and interest in Germany and this summer’s tournament. People all over the world will be able to decide which of the 12 they would like to “adopt” as their German.

Their final ambassadorial duties will be at the World Cup itself where they will take up permanent residence at Café MosKau, the PUMA hospitality house in Berlin. Here they will be available to meet and greet their newfound friends and fans at a series of events.

PUMA spokesperson, Ulf Santjer: “As the eyes of the world turn to Germany summer, the country will see hundreds of thousands of visitors. PUMA wants to help welcome these visitors and at the same time address some misconceptions about the country and its people.”

Casting Cube Adoptee Application Tour Dates:

The search criteria for the adoptee demands nothing other than a personality and a desire to keep the world entertained with anecdotes and updates on what their city and their country has to offer. Germans will be able to apply via visiting PUMA Casting Cubes at each of the following cities:

23. Feb LEIPZIG Augustusplatz
27. Feb HAMBURG Spitalerstraße 22
28. Feb NUREMBERG Jakobsplatz
01. March MUNICH Theatinerstraße 1 (PUMA Concept Store)
02. March STUTTGART Koenigsstraße 21 (PUMA Concept Store)
06. March FRANKFURT Zeil 72-82 (PUMA Concept Store)
07. March KAISERSLAUTERN Schillerplatz
08. March COLOGNE Schildergasse 107-109 (PUMA Concept Store)
09. March HANOVER Steintorplatz
13. March BERLIN Rosenthaler Straße 40-41 (PUMA Concept Store)

Germans can also apply by visiting www.adoptagerman.com

The final 12 adoptees will be announced in April.

B-Roll footage and images from the launch available at www.thenewshub.co.uk and www.thenewsmarket.com

“Geoff Ogilvy embodies the combination of athletic excellence and style that is synonymous with the PUMA brand, and we congratulate him on this latest achievement” said Jochen Zeitz, PUMA Chairman and CEO. “Not only has he made his own mark in the world of Golf, he has attributed to PUMA’s successful entry into this category.”

“PUMA created a collection for golfers that truly meets their performance needs,” said Geoff Ogilvy. “Not only does the collection provide me with technical benefits and comfort I want, but PUMA offers a style and look that allows me to make a statement that fits my fashion sense.”
 Ogilvy was seen in various pieces from PUMA’s new spring and forthcoming autumn Golf collection throughout the World Golf Championships. PUMA Golf gave “The Cardiac Kid” all the performance attributes needed by a professional golfer while also creating an unexpected, modern look never seen before in the traditionally conservative world of golf.

During the five-day tournament, Geoff Ogilvy was seen wearing:

• The PG GTX spikes allowed for a close-to-the-ground feel, forefoot flexibility, ease of traction and transition through his golf swing.
• PUMA’s Golf Pants featuring a Teflon coated overlay on the back legs, pin tuck details on the center front legs and knee darts for articulation and ease of movement. Geoff accessorized his outfit with the black Golf Belt, which features the PUMA cat on the buckle.
• The merino wool Golf Knitted Sweater created a dramatic look, making Geoff truly visible during the competition.
• The Golf Polo in colors orchid pink, fresh salmon and crystal blue and the Golf Sleeveless Knit Top featuring a distinctive “18-hole” logo in a vibrant pastel color palette, adding a splash of color on the fairways and greens.
  
  

PUMA signed Ogilvy in January to a four-year agreement. As part of the deal, Ogilvy wore PUMA Golf footwear and apparel at all of his appearances on the Tour. In addition, beginning on March 18th, he will star in the company’s first global golf television and print advertising campaign with PUMA’s first female professional golfer, Erica Blasberg.

With Ogilvy’s win at the World Golf Championships Match Play, the Australian-born golfer achieves a career-high of 26th, an improvement of 27 spots according to The World Golf Rankings.

PUMA Golf offers performance footwear, apparel and accessories and select lifestyle pieces for men and women that will enhance your game as well as your style. The PUMA Golf Collection worn by Geoff Ogilvy lands at select retailers and PUMA Concept Stores worldwide in March 2006.

For more information visit www.puma.com
For images please visit www.thenewsmarket.com